The Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff lives are on the line tonight in Florida, with the Panthers owning a commanding 3-0 series lead and having a prime opportunity at home to knock off the Leafs in 4 straight. Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just stating the facts.
During their sessions with the media on Tuesday, Mitch Marner was one of the players made available to the media and boy, did he not seem enthused or impressed with the fact that he had to be there, speaking with the reporters present. At one point during his interview, he told the reporters that the players simply don't care what the media has to say and that the only opinions that matter are the ones in the locker room. Well, today on his podcast, JD Bunkis tore a strip off of Mitch Marner for his comments, and you know what? Mitch deserved it.
"This is the issue that I have with it. How about you show some of that pushback against the Florida Panthers? Why are you trying to make a villain out of your fans and media right now? The opponent is the Florida Panthers. You're down 3-0 and you guys have disappointed greatly. I'm sorry, man, but for you to have any focus and any energy towards this you vs the media/fans, it makes no sense right now. It's like they're already preparing the defense [for the loss]. You know, when you're talking to someone and you're having an argument with them and you can tell that they're not listening to you, they're just preparing their thought that they've already got kind of prepared and they want their rebuttal and they're kind of organizing it in their head - that's why yesterday sort of bothered me for Marner. It's like you're already preparing for the end of season media conferences!" - Bunkis on Marner alienating members of the media during yesterday's availability
Love him or hate him, Bunkis has a point. If the Leafs are as focused on holding each other accountable as they say they are, then why should what the media or fans think matter any less to them? These are the people who you're playing in front of every night. These people are largely why you're employed. Without media coverage and without fan involvement and investment, none of these guys would have a job as a professional hockey player. Rather than telling them their opinion isn't valid or doesn't matter, maybe take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror and realize that people are right to talk about the Leafs not getting it done. It's been 7 years in the Marner/Matthews era and they haven't accomplished anything.
To me, Marner is a classic case of a guy who says nothing bothers him, when inside, it's eating him up. It's all he thinks about and it comes out in the way he treats the media. Like he doesn't even want to be there. If you look at how players like Ryan O'Reilly address the media or how Jason Spezza addressed the media last season, they were both very cordial and professional. What Marner does, telling the media that the public opinion doesn't matter - that's not exactly going to rally people behind him. Sure, maybe Marner just didn't think about it and chose his words poorly, but come on, Mitch. That just wasn't it.
