In the summer of bagging on Mitch Marner it seemed inevitable that some high profile bystanders would weigh-in at some point. Zach Bogosian did just that on Andy Strickland’s podcast on Tuesday.
Zach Bogosian goes to bat for Mitch Marner #LeafsForever @CamandStrick pic.twitter.com/aUac8bSIzT
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) August 13, 2024
Bogosian speaks to the fact that Mitch Marner is a great teammate and one of the most well liked guys in the locker room. There isn’t a lot to refute this and one public moment of frustration from William Nylander and Auston Matthews on the Leafs bench in the playoffs likely didn’t change their feelings that very likely mirror Bogosian’s as well. This isn’t a no one showing up to Bo Callahan’s birthday party moment, Marner seems to be appreciated by his teammates, and they are certainly willing to go to bat for him. (Although it is worth noting Bogosian and Marner share an agent.)
Bogosian also speaks to Marner’s work ethic and I agree that is another thing that has unfairly been called into question. Along with Marner’s style of play, which Bogosian also defends when pressed on it. Marner isn’t going to be a gym rat or suddenly show up with 30 extra pounds of muscle and start punishing opponents. I’m not sure anyone should want that either as it would involve a significant adjustment to his game. Instead like Bogosian suggests, Marner is wise to spin off hits and make his opponents skate. There isn’t much good from him engaging physically, and he is a creative player that will keep on trying new things to see what works.
Bogosian’s defence of Marner is reasonable but ignores a few key few issues that are lingering.
- Marner’s playoff appearances have consistently underwhelmed and despite the fact that he is willing to try different things and being physically engaged shouldn’t be part of his game, he is yet to find a successful alternative. An optimist for this season might say that a lot of that could have been on Sheldon Keefe and finding a new strategy for Mitch might create some space. The Leafs could simply give up on Marner in 5v5 offensive situations and lean into him more defensively at even strength and let him use his offensive abilities on special teams.
- Marner’s style of play might be too redundant with other top six forwards like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares also not being physical engaging or at least not particularly intimidating. With Matthews and Nylander already under contract and John Tavares likely to not cost on his next contract what he presently costs on this one, talking about moving on from Marner is just acknowledging he is the easiest option when it comes to making a style change.
- There is also Marner’s contract, and that is something that Bogosian, a fellow Darren Ferris client, isn’t going to address as an issue and it would be weird if he did. Marner is going to be damned expensive on his next deal and even a contract mirroring William Nylander’s should be giving the Leafs some concern, even if that is a reasonable offer to Mitch. Expensive forwards of a similar style that don’t have any playoff success to speak of is a tough sell, but with the salary cap rising and changing how teams build their rosters, the safe option might be to stick with Marner regardless.
The decision the Leafs will have to make on Marner won’t be an easy one, but not one that is based in whether or not Marner is a good person that cares about the team or not. That’s always been a false narrative and a result of overreactions to Mitch’s limited skill with the media and people looking to fight over Instagram photos in August.
Bogosian isn’t the first former teammate to weigh-in on Marner this summer and Ryan O’Reilly has spoken to his desire to play with Marner again. Marner is a good teammate, superstar talent, and will likely have another 90+ regular season for the Maple Leafs. It’s just a matter if he is still the best fit for the future.
