There has been a lot of talk about the Maple Leafs trading a star player, Mitch Marner. Ever since Toronto got knocked out of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Boston Bruins, there has been talk about the franchise's core four... mostly about Marner, who's been a star for the Leafs since his NHL debut during the 2016-17 season.
Marner has a year left on his contract, which includes a no-movement clause. There's been much discussion about what the Leafs should do - should they push him to waive the clause or not?
In Marner's first season playing in the league, he set the franchise record for the most assists recorded by a rookie in a single season with 42 total that year, which had helped the Maple Leafs land a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Mitch Marner also ended his rookie year with a total of 61 points, and since then, has been close every season to 100 points in a single season. Playing 576 games in his career, he has secured a 194-445-639 record.
Seeing how well and important of a player Mitch Marner is, I don't think he should be leaving Toronto. Why? He is the top assist player in the franchise and there's a very strong chemistry, probably the best duo on the Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews.
Marner sets up mostly successful plays for his teammates, especially for Auston Matthews, who he has the best connection with out of the group. In the past 2023-24 season, he led the whole team in assists in only 69 games played... both William Nylander (58 assists in 82 games) and Matthews (38 assists in 81 games) followed behind him. He also contributes to power plays, which he has been praised for due to his playmaking skills by former head coach, Sheldon Keefe.
He's a dependable source of offense, he's a reliable player, has been one of the top players in the franchise since his NHL debut/rookie year, has a strong chemistry with his teammates, and has excellent playmaking abilities.
Yes, the overtime loss against the Bruins that took Toronto out was entirely unfortunate and things possibly could have been different - but Marner does have room to improve, as well as other players. He faced criticism for his performance in the postseason, but he should not be the one to blame for a game that honestly was going to go either way.
With a new head coach, Craig Berube, which will be a big change for Toronto - it'd be a stupid idea to make such a huge roster change by getting rid of a player like Mitch Marner.
Under a new head coach, Marner may improve his game in several different ways that can boost his performance and even the team's performance. I believe that a change like getting rid of a player like Mitch Marner and being under new management could lead to an unneeded and unfortunate downgrade in performance for the Maple Leafs next season.
Mitch Marner's Total Career Stats:
2016-17: GP 77 G 19 A 42 P 61
2017-18: GP 82 G 22 A 47 P 69
2018-19: GP 82 G 26 A 68 P 94
2019-20: GP 59 G 16 A 51 P 67
2020-21: GP 55 G 20 A 47 P 67
2021-22: GP 72 G 35 A 62 P 97
2022-23: GP 80 G 30 A 69 P 99
2023-24: GP 69 G 26 A 59 P 85
Overall:
GP 576
G 194
A 445
P 639
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