To the many Maple Leafs fans that called for Mitch Marner to move on—which he has—because his playoff point production never mirrored his regular season pace, the old “be careful what you wish for” warning might be ringing a little louder these days.
While Marner—along with many others—deserves criticism for the team’s lack of post-season success, there is little doubt he was the primary reason why the Leafs reached the playoffs eight straight years during his time in Toronto.
Before anyone starts predicting deeper playoff runs without him, it’s worth remembering a basic requirement: you must make the playoffs before you can advance in them. As of today, the Toronto No-Marners aren’t in a playoff spot.
The idea that Marner cannot produce “in the clutch” is most assuredly nonsense. If “big-game” pressure is his kryptonite, it seems odd that he was the dominant star on junior hockey’s biggest stage, leading his London Knights to a Memorial Cup championship and winning the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. It also seems odd that Marner was a huge factor in Canada winning the recent high-pressure Four Nations Cup, scoring a massive overtime goal against Sweden in the round robin and subsequently making a brilliant play to set up Connor McDavid’s winning goal in the championship game’s overtime session against the United States. It should be noted that the frantic pace of that tournament, and the further reduction of time and space, exceeded a typical NHL playoff game by a wide margin—and yet Marner didn’t shrink. He shined.
Throughout his career, Marner’s offensive identity has been consistent: creating something out of nothing by maximizing what regular-season time and space allows for. The fact that playoff tempo and intensity reduces—or eliminates—time and space, often makes a drop-off inevitable.
Not so obvious is the superb defensive play and penalty-killing contributions Marner provided year after year come playoff time, something he rarely receives credit for. True, his over-the-top focus and commitment to defending was a detriment to his playoff point totals, but the list of NHL skill players that have seen their point production shrink during playoff-style hockey is startlingly long. Playoff hockey is almost a different sport, where unexpected third-line and fourth-line heroes emerge for their fifteen minutes of fame due to the incredible intensity and lack of rule enforcement.
Many years ago, another highly skilled right-shot forward—Detroit’s Steve Yzerman—was similarly chastised for multiple years of underachieving playoff results. But rather than chase Yzerman out of town, the Red Wings stood firm and refused to panic. And when it was all said and done, Steve Yzerman owned three Stanley Cup rings. And he did so at ages 32, 33, and 37.
Mitch Marner left the Maple Leafs at age 28.
Remember, you can’t win in the playoffs, if you ain’t in them.
Yep, be careful what you wish for.
