Ex-Leafs goalie publicly states that Mitch Marner "done" in Toronto
A former Leafs goaltender went on the record this week, stating that he believes Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is "done" in Toronto.
Andrew Raycroft believes that Marner's callout of the media while he was rehabbing an ankle injury may have been the straw that broke the camel's back and will ultimately force him out of Toronto.
Raycroft, who is most famous in Toronto for being acquired in the trade for Leafs prospect Tuukka Rask, knows just how volatile the Toronto market can be. After signing a 3-year contract with the Leafs in 2006, at the end of the second year, he was bought out and played for three other NHL teams before playing in Europe and then retiring at the end of the 2013-2014 season.
On Wednesday, Raycroft, who can usually be found covering Boston Bruins games on NESN, was on TSN's 'First Up' and commented about Marner's play so far this postseason and why he has taken so much heat.
I've been there, I've answered a question like that in that market and that guy is never coming back from that. I think were seeing some of that right now.
He can score goals and they can go on and win but he's not coming back from that comment. No one is going to forget it - everyone is always going to go back to it. Every game he doesn't get a point they'll go back to him having a bad attitude or whatever reason and when he scores they're going to say he should've done it cause he makes $10M a year.
It's unfortunate for Mitch. He certainly wasn't good the first two games. he was hard to find out there sometimes. That doesn't mean he can't get 3 assists tonight, he can't get 4 points in Game 4. He has that kind of talent, but just watching how the media has kind of switched on him and then doing this in the playoffs - this isn't going away even if he plays great the next little while."
As Raycroft said, Marner has put himself in this position after calling out the media by having just 1 goal in his last 11 playoff games and having zero points through two games this series before tallying one lone assist last night.
A controversial Leafs reporter has also slammed Marner for his lack of playoff production and his actions in Game 2 didn't help keep Leaf fans on his side either.
With the Leafs at home for the next two games, it will be interesting to see if getting a more favourable matchup on the ice will help Marner do what he does best in putting points on the board for the Leafs.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 25 | 532 ANSWERS Ex-Leafs goalie publicly states that Mitch Marner "done" in Toronto Will Marner sign a new contract with the Leafs? | ||
| Yes, he wants to stay a Leaf | 172 | 32.3 % |
| No, he's not worth the money | 189 | 35.5 % |
| I think both sides are ready to move on | 171 | 32.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
