The Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner makes those around him better, even the likes of Auston Matthews
Marner #Marner
It wasn’t a surprise when, a year before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Mitch Marner was recently projected as a member of Canada’s top line with Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. It was a reflection of just how much Marner is respected for making the players around him, as good as they might be, even better.
It is an opinion shared by Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, who has paired Marner with centre Auston Matthews since taking over in late 2019. Marner and Matthews have become one of the most lethal forward pairings in the NHL. Matthews entered Monday leading the league in goals, despite having missed a couple of games. Both he and Marner were in the top five in points. And the Leafs were first in the NHL. So, outside of injury, Keefe has had little reason to split them up.
Toronto might seem top-heavy. Marner and Matthews scored 28 of the Leafs’ 78 goals (36 per cent) in their first 22 games, and they combined for 63 of the roster’s 157 points (40 per cent). It’s a similar story in Edmonton, where Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been one-two in the NHL points race, and the Oilers seem to be in constant discussion over whether to play the two together or have them carry their own lines.
Matthews and Marner have shown the ability to succeed on their own. Matthews has scored 34 goals or more in his first four seasons. And Marner was on John Tavares’s wing when the Leafs captain set career highs in goals (47) and points (88) two seasons ago. Marner didn’t miss a beat Saturday when Matthews sat out with a wrist injury, combining with Tavares, Joe Thornton and William Nylander on the Leafs’ two first-period goals.
The Leafs entered Monday 2-0 without Matthews this season, and 22-11-2 in games without him since the start of the 2016-17 season.
“I always try to keep my confidence the same,” Marner said. “I think last season, playing with Auston, you always try and find him in spots because (of his goal scoring). I think this year, my mindset is still try and find Auston, if I can get the puck to him, but if not, try and get it on net. Just realizing that a play off a goalie is better than a pass. I’m trying to do that more. I worked more on my shot this year. I feel confident when I’m shooting these days, its something I have to keep going.”
“Mitch is a very good player at both ends of the ice, first of all,” Keefe said when asked how Marner makes other players better. “When you look at linemates and teammates, first of all, (you ask) do you do your job, are you reliable in that? And Mitch certainly is.
“And then it’s, if somebody makes a mistake, are your there, can you make up for it through effort or through intelligence? And in Mitch’s case, he has both. And then of course, when he has the puck, just the way he sees the ice — if you get open, he finds you — (the way) he creates his own space, so lots of really good things. And I think that’s what really good players do.”
The Leafs’ success, Keefe would argue, has come from a lot of players complementing each other. Marner’s goal Saturday was the result of great spacing by Thornton, a stretch pass by Morgan Reilly and the aggression of Tavares in the offensive zone. But the best pairing has been Matthews and Marner, and Matthews has never been better than with Marner on his wing.
“A lot of things,” Zach Hyman said, when asked how Marner makes others better. “His poise and patience with the puck … his ability to make plays, in all areas of the game, whether it’s the offensive zone, the neutral zone, the defensive zone. To set up plays, he’s one of the best in the league at that. His ability to transport the puck from our zone to the (offensive) zone and to set up play there, and his ability to hunt pucks down is an underrated ability.
“Getting pucks on the backtrack is important, too, and he does that very well. He plays in all situations, power play, penalty kill, a ton of even strength. He’s just one of the best players in the league and when you’re one of those guys, you make players around you better.”
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