Former Leaf rips Leafs superstar Mitch Marner to shreds during podcast
We all know that regular season hockey is far different from playoff hockey. The regular season is where the Leafs thrive because games are officiated tighter and the Leafs are able to use their speed, and creativity to create offensive chances and can get into "track meets". In the playoffs, however, the Leafs struggle to create that same space and struggle to use their speed because the game becomes much more of a clutch and grab type of game and far less is called by officials.
Becoming a tougher team is something that new GM Brad Treliving has shown to be important in the past, particularly on the blueline, so we should expect some changes throughout the summer in that regard. Those changes will not come at the cost of any "Core 4" members, judging from what has been reported thus far.
On this morning's Leafs' Morning Take, former Leaf Jay Rosehill called out the Leafs' soft play in the playoffs, and specifically ripped superstar winger Mitch Marner, stating that he does not believe that the Leafs will ever win a Stanley Cup with Marner on the team.
"For what you can get for Mitch Marner [in a trade]... he's so soft. I don't even know if he can pick up the Stanley Cup. I just don't think he can take you to the promised land. You see how beaten up the Panthers were at the end of the Finals - that's what it takes... I just fear that every single time, Marner is going to fall off because he wasn't willing to go to war. He's just a fresh-faced, nice kid who likes to do toe drags... but he's not going to go to war for you and I just can't picture him hoisting that Stanley Cup after being beaten up for two months," said Rosehill of Marner's failure to adapt in the post-season.
While Marner isn't the biggest or strongest player, Rosehill isn't asking him to throw hits or anything, he is simply asking Marner to go into the dirty areas and engage in those battles in the corners or in front of the net instead of hanging out in the high slot waiting for the puck to come to him to create a play, because when the puck doesn't come to him, he and his creativity are entirely neutralized.
After the way Rosehill went after Marner today, I think we can probably rule out a future Marner appearance on the program.
| POLL | ||
23 JUIN | 1789 ANSWERS Former Leaf rips Leafs superstar Mitch Marner to shreds during podcast Do you think the Leafs will ever win a Stanley Cup with Mitch Marner on the team? | ||
| Yes | 821 | 45.9 % |
| No | 968 | 54.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
