Will Mitch Marner start the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston is asked if Mitch Marner will start the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and how things could play out this year.
** NHLRumors.com transcriptions
Julian McKenzie: “Next one for you. Leafs fans will be interested in this one. Is Mitch Marner starting next season in Toronto?”
Johnston: “Yes. I mean, I think I’ve already said way more likely than not. I just don’t see a trade coming but who knows? Like I obviously don’t, I can’t say with 100% certainty, but it feels like he’s starting next season in Toronto.”
McKenzie: “Okay. So…”
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Johnston: “I don’t know what happens yet. I don’t know if they sign extension. I don’t know if we’re talking about him trade, getting traded at some point. But I think you know, it’s happened that there’s been trades after this point of that significance, but it’s pretty rare.”
McKenzie: “Okay, all right. You heard it here.”
Johnston: “And he wants to play in Toronto. So I mean,”
McKenzie: “That too.”
Johnston: “And he’s got a no-movement clause. So I think everyone should start to get used to that. And we’ll probably debate it for the next eight to 10 months.”
McKenzie: “But like, I wonder though, like, there obviously people are gonna hate this because they feel the way they feel about Mitch Marner. I wonder how Mitch feels about the fact that yeah, you might want to play in Toronto, but there are a lot of people out there who don’t really want you to be there. And I wonder how that shows itself through the regular season with their fans. I’m very curious how that plays out.”
Johnston: “True, but Mitch is, he’s been around long enough to know how fickle fans can be in both directions.”
McKenzie: “Yes.”
Johnston: “And I’m sure it’s in his mind, I’m gonna play so well they got no choice but to love me again. Not to say people don’t love him. I don’t, I think that he’s become kind of the lightning rod for this entire team.
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It, but like it’s a team’s failings, right? It’s not, like the Leafs inability to progress long in the playoffs, sure Mitch Marner has a hand in it, but so does Austin Matthews, John Tavares, Morgan Riely, Sheldon Keefe, Kyle Dubas. You know, I guess we’ll say Brad Treliving although he’s only been there for one year.
But like, it’s not one player or one person’s fault. But he sort of becomes kind of like, a lot of the energy goes in his direction on this one. But I would just say that all I think I think people want Toronto is a team that, that wins.
Like I think all will be forgotten, like, like Ken Holland took a whole bunch of arrows for a number of years and Edmonton. I didn’t hear anyone complain about Ken Holland on that cup run. And I’m not saying, I’m not saying it smooths everything over and there’s still someone who probably point out the Jack Campbell contract that they just bought out or whatever. But if you win, it doesn’t matter how you got there.
And so I would guess without having spoken to Mitch, his focus is on having a great season. You know, getting to work under Craig Berube. And if the Leafs win, all the noise will just have been just that. Just, just, it was, it’s all the crescendo up to the great moment. Which is not me predicting the Leafs are gonna win. But if you’re a player for the team, like of course your, that’s your goal. That’s what you’re working towards.”
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McKenzie. “Yep, I like that answer.”
