Player Discussion Mitch Marner

[ACC1224]

Well, the guy is human. He’s not immune to pressure and doubt. He knows what everyone in The media and the fanbase is saying. That probably plays a role, to an extent. We need him to breathe, and let the game come to him. You see that a lot in football, when a QB is pressing, and he’s trying to do too much. They call it squeezing the stick too tight in hockey, but same idea. He needs to slow down the process, and do what he does well

He's always been his own worst enemy.

 

[HarryLime]

I got kicked out of this thread after the Habs series, but nothing has changed in my mind. He gives effort, he is just too frail. he's much too easy to stop due to his limitations and lack of a shot. I hope he gets moved because the same thing is going to keep happening. Not worth the money.

 

[SprDaVE]

Well, the guy is human. He’s not immune to pressure and doubt. He knows what everyone in The media and the fanbase is saying. That probably plays a role, to an extent. We need him to breathe, and let the game come to him. You see that a lot in football, when a QB is pressing, and he’s trying to do too much. They call it squeezing the stick too tight in hockey, but same idea. He needs to slow down the process, and do what he does well

That's fair for sure and I think some criticism goes way too far. But at the end of the day, he's paid a lot to perform and this is what this market does. Blaming his linemates or his role is also pretty lame because many players in this league play the same level of players and they do well. Then you have a powerplay where you get all the talent of this team and he stil hasn't been able to perform to his normal level.

He'll break out eventually and the fans will go back to being less critical. I hope for his sake it's not too late when he does.

 

[ITM]

I wanted him at the draft, and I liked what I saw, regular season and the playoffs prior to his payday.

Is it selective memory that says before his big deal that he demonstrated development (for both seasons) and was trending up, and then...regression in the post-season?

 

[NJG]

Sensationalist Cheap shot move by the Toronto sun

Are they wrong though? You know the market, you know what it's like and you know what it's like to play here. Either this makes you mad and fires you up and you go out there and prove them wrong or you keep playing with no heart and they stay right. It's up to him, he controls the outcome and what gets said and talked about with his play.

 

[A1LeafNation]

He's a difference maker, getting him going is in everyone's best interests

In the playoffs..he is?

 

[Nineteen67]

I'm guessing many people didn't actually read the article.

Crafty headline aside, the article wasn't a hit piece at all - it was quite measured, balanced, and completely fair. I'm the last person to defend Simmons, but it really wasn't that bad.

it was truth.

Lots of media people are saying the same things.

 

[Macallan18]

High ankle sprains are rough and his pace is fairly off for sure. But he's always bounced back in his career when he goes through tough stretches. I'd give him a chance to shake it off and we can see where we're at whenever the Leafs flame out.

Of course! He has the whole playoffs! But if he doesn’t perform dump him. He didn’t have a high ankle sprain last year, did he?

 

[ErnieLeafs]

That's fair for sure and I think some criticism goes way too far. But at the end of the day, he's paid a lot to perform and this is what this market does. Blaming his linemates or his role is also pretty lame because many players in this league play the same level of players and they do well. Then you have a powerplay where you get all the talent of this team and he stil hasn't been able to perform to his normal level.

He'll break out eventually and the fans will go back to being less critical. I hope for his sake it's not too late when he does.

Something isn’t clicking for him, for sure. 11pts in 6 games in Rd.1 last year says he can do it. He just needs to do it again. Like when Bertuzzi FINALLY got his goal earlier this year, I think once he gets a break, it could open the floodgates for him

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Are they wrong though? You know the market, you know what it's like and you know what it's like to play here. Either this makes you mad and fires you up and you go out there and prove them wrong or you keep playing with no heart and they stay right. It's up to him, he controls the outcome and what gets said and talked about with his play.

Simmons is a tool but there's nothing wrong/invalid in that article, Mitchy hasn't earned his money in the biggest games.

It's on him to change the narrative

 

[Tak7]

Something isn’t clicking for him, for sure. 11pts in 6 games in Rd.1 last year says he can do it. He just needs to do it again. Like when Bertuzzi FINALLY got his goal earlier this year, I think once he gets a break, it could open the floodgates for him

I agree.

I just don't know what "opened floodgates" look like with Mitch in the playoffs, because we haven't really seen it.

Is it goals? Is it matching his regular season production rates with plenty of assists? Is it him dancing and looking like the most confident guy on the ice? It's probably all of those things, but he hasn't really established that baseline in the playoffs yet.

When you contrast Matthews, who continues to build his playoff resume with big performances like Game 2 in Boston, or Game 4 in Tampa last year, or Game 5 vs Tampa the year before, or the winning goal against Boston in game 5 a few years ago, Mitch doesn't really have that big playoff moment, or a series of moments that lets fans confidently say "THAT'S WHAT MITCH CAN BE IN THE PLAYOFFS"

Good news for him = he's got another opportunity tonight, and through this series, to try and establish that.

 

[stickty111]

These actually might be 2 of the biggest games Marner has played. If he is silent again, it won't be pretty and isn't good right now.

 

[sxvnert]

These actually might be 2 of the biggest games Marner has played. If he is silent again, it won't be pretty and isn't good right now.

Keefe should shuffle around lines #2 and #3 to give him a bit more to work with.

 

[Notsince67]

I got kicked out of this thread after the Habs series, but nothing has changed in my mind. He gives effort, he is just too frail. he's much too easy to stop due to his limitations and lack of a shot. I hope he gets moved because the same thing is going to keep happening. Not worth the money.

I thought you retired from hockey. You back to pile on your leaf hate?

 

[Leafsfanperson]

I've been a Mitch loyalist for years, the contract never bothered me, like I give a **** if he makes 9.5 instead of 10.7

BUT

The emergence of Nylander is displacing Marner. Until I see regular season Marner in the playoffs, I'm getting over the need for him being a Leaf.

I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

[supermann_98]

This could be a be a statement game from Marner. Shut everyone up and help the team grab a win

Also, keefe please try nylander and Marner

I wanna see it too. The limited time I see them playing 5v5 together they seem to have a certain chemistry that only high end skill players may have who are roughly the same size, handedness, etc.

Bertuzzi - Matthews - Domi
Knies - Nylander - Marner
Holmberg - Tavares - Jarnkrok
Dewar - Kampf - Reaves

Probably wouldn't ever happen in the regular season let alone playoffs, as Keefe is basically fighting for his job right now.

I'd also consider getting Robertson in there in place of Knies as Knies has been invisible offensively and his only impact so far is being a crash test dummy for the Bruins to trample over

 

[Aashir Mallik]

I wanna see it too. The limited time I see them playing 5v5 together they seem to have a certain chemistry that only high end skill players may have who are roughly the same size, handedness, etc.

Bertuzzi - Matthews - Domi
Knies - Nylander - Marner
Holmberg - Tavares - Jarnkrok
Dewar - Kampf - Reaves

Probably wouldn't ever happen in the regular season let alone playoffs, as Keefe is basically fighting for his job right now.

I'd also consider getting Robertson in there in place of Knies as Knies has been invisible offensively and his only impact so far is being a crash test dummy for the Bruins to trample over

yea, tbh I haven’t liked knies’s games that much. Sure he’s given a few hits and taken many more, but his piss poor defensive iq has already cost us once and will again. Plus his offence is not near Robertson’s right now.

Everytime I see Robertson do something, it’s off a point shot or he creates it himself, which is another reason I’d keep him in. Robertson is one of maybe 4 guys who can create their own offence on this team. The other 3 make 11 million…

On the other hand, it’s a complete waste to put nylander on the third line with the Cock and Holmberg. jarnkrok is lucky to put the puck in the back of the net twice in a run, and holmberg is so bland and vanilla. Neither guy will have any finish.

People bring up how nylander should dominate third line competition, but with those two you are making it a 3 v 5 when that line comes out.
he’s being put in a position to fail, it’s so extreme you’d think our coach wants him to fail. I can’t stress how useless offensively jarnkrok is in the playoffs, dude plays because he isn’t an idiot on his own end, that is all. Holmberg doesn’t bring enough in the ozone and cant make plays with nylander to keep up.

 

[Jojalu]

He gets a pass from me. IMO final grades are issued when the playoffs are over and hopefully we're a long way from that. A slow start doesn't mean this can't end with him winning the Conn Smythe Trohpy. I mean OK obviously that's not likely, but it's at least within the realm of possibility and I'm just making a point here.

This is the exact same approach I take.

I understand emotion gets the best, but I try not to get too caught up by someone having a great or poor game. Or period. Or shift.

I will reserve judgement until they either win the Cup or get eliminated.

Things can change really fast in a series and hereos become villians and vice versa

 

[Leafsfan74]

I've been a Mitch loyalist for years, the contract never bothered me, like I give a **** if he makes 9.5 instead of 10.7

BUT

The emergence of Nylander is displacing Marner. Until I see regular season Marner in the playoffs, I'm getting over the need for him being a Leaf.

I'd love to be proven wrong.

I never thought he was worth his contract. Of the 4, only JT was given fair market value as he was a UFA and Leafs had no control over him, and he took a discount to come to T.O. One can debate the merit of the contract and the timing, but, it was fair market value.

In the UFA stage only Matthews will be worth his contract in the end most likely barring a Conn Smythe for either Marner or Nylander. He is an elite goal scorer, top three in jersey sales every year and a major gate draw. More important he is a two way centre with size who can do it all if he chooses.

Marner would work well in a place like Detroit or Ottawa. Teams on the cusp of getting in and just need some offensive flair. Or, he would do well in Utah or something to draw some fans.

His playoffs haven't been too bad, but it has been patchy. If in fact, his lines ends up shutting down Patranak it is a great trade off as Leafs have more offensive weapons.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Simmons is a tool but there's nothing wrong/invalid in that article, Mitchy hasn't earned his money in the biggest games.

It's on him to change the narrative

Wait, what is going on? I've been doing other stuff all day............

If anyone can link me to a reference point for this, I'd appreciate it.

I will NOT read anything from Voldemort though (aka Symonds)

I've been a Mitch loyalist for years, the contract never bothered me, like I give a **** if he makes 9.5 instead of 10.7

BUT

The emergence of Nylander is displacing Marner. Until I see regular season Marner in the playoffs, I'm getting over the need for him being a Leaf.

I'd love to be proven wrong.

How do you feel about Marner wanting $13m per after next season?

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

He's always been his own worst enemy.

He runs the play so much, when we get to the playoffs there we are playing perimeter style in the Ozone.

That's not gonna get us past battle hardened playoff teams.

 

[ACC1224]

Wait, what is going on? I've been doing other stuff all day............

If anyone can link me to a reference point for this, I'd appreciate it.

I will NOT read anything from Voldemort though (aka Symonds)



How do you feel about Marner wanting $13m per after next season?

When did he say he wanted 13m?

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

When did he say he wanted 13m?

It's just a guess from me.

I'm sure he/his father/his agent want less than that though.

(I'm not even going at your here, I honestly think he's gonna go for something close to that)

 

[WTFMAN99]

I hope he has that dominant 3 point night that matches what Matthews did last game and propels the team to victory, he needs a few of those this series to get the team wins.

It's impressive they're stifling Pastrnak and co. but for 11M, you need to be dominant offensively.

 

[DarkKnight]

"Mitch is our most reliable and consistent defensive player and he will continue to be so". Keefe

He isn't wrong either.