who

he might be injured. hes definitely not a a liability but he hasn't been as effective. I also believe he doesn't look as good because hes playing with matthews. everyone's comparing his play to last season where the majority of his points came off of crazy moves where he did a bunch of crap that resulted in JT being open back door for a tap in. now that hes up with matthews hes not being asked to do as much offensively. hes just got to make a relatively easy pass to matthews who is able to create his own space and take a good shot. They aren't using marners talent to his fullest potential with matthews. They are very good together but there isn't that much of a difference between marner there and nylander there. Its such a waste seeing marner make these simple passes when we know nylander can do the same and at the same time knowing marner would be so much better doing all these crazy things offensively to help JT who isn't as good at creating his own shots. To simplify everything I think its a waste of marners ability to have him with matthews when JT is much better with marner. The leafs goal should be to get the best out of their lines. JT+Nylander is very good but it could 100% be better. AM+Marner is very good but it could be better.

Im also a big believer in using a shutdown line/pair. if I were an opposing team I would love to have AM+MM together so they can do everything they can to shut them down and that leaves the bottom 9 a lot weaker then it would be if the 2nd line is AM+WN. Marners DZ coverage has always been very suspect but I trust him more then Nylander. Hyman/Mikheyev-Tavares-Marner gives them the best shut down line they would be able to assemble

Funny he just scored one of the prettiest goals of the season from his knees. He is agile and able to make moves even if it means dropping to knees. And again... is throwing up points at a crazy pace.... no issues here.

Personally I don't give a **** about points. His decision making has been atrocious all year long and it has been murdering so much opportunity for the Leafs both offensively and defensively. I try to be better than the media and not panic about things, so I am not ready to suggest that we NEED to trade Marner or anything crazy like that, but I am beginning to wonder if he is a good fit for this team's possession play style long term. Hopefully he bounces back next season and puts these issues to rest but if not we should consider moving him for a monster return.

This is something that I've noticed too. The thing is, Marner isn't the greatest puck handler. When watching Matthews or even Nylander with the puck, there's smoothness in the way they handle it. They corral passes better and seem in control a lot more than Marner does. Something he should work on. His hands are very choppy.

Then again, he's still effective as anybody else in the league so it's not something to spend too much time worrying about. The goal he scored on Tuesday night is evidence.

Yes I agree. Marner was mainly the puck carrier with JT but now playing with AM, doesn’t have it as much. I think it’s because AM is bigger, faster & a better skater than JT therefore he possesses it more easily. JT does more off the puck work to get goals & make plays. I definitely think Marner is a better fit with JT & Nylander is better with Matthews. One thing I’ve noticed is that Marner doesn’t go into the corner to fight for the puck this season. It’s probably cuz they have Hyman & Matthews on a line who both do that.

Yes I agree, his decision making has been so questionable this season it’s frustrating to watch him. So many times he gives up the puck trying to make an extra move or pass, other times he just shoots it straight into the opposing team’s players’ legs. Given his hands, vision & agility, I think Marner should fare well in any puck possession system. But it seems to me he is not very strong at sustaining offensive zone pressure. Not sure why that is perhaps he is too small, keeps getting knocked off stride & gives up possession. I’m not sure if he’s capable of bouncing back he looks like he’s playing with zero confidence. A change of scenery may benefit both him & the Leafs.

I don’t think Marner has as much strength, speed & balance as Nylander & Matthews that’s why he doesn’t look as smooth carrying the puck, but his stick handling & puck control is really good. His confidence seems shot this season though.

Good points. I thought about the various line creations, tweaks..etc and the most reasonable conclusion I have come to is the bad decision of keeping Babcock as the coach in the off-season.

Let's face it, Keefe is and will be playing catchup with this roster for the rest of the season and playoffs. If he had the off-season to prepare for the season, he would have a better handle on which players play well together.

I fully believe Keefe will be better next season just because of this very reason.

He definitely seems off since signing his huge contract this off-season.

I was surprised that his agent also noted people were after Marner's dad on social media but it was his dad who started it after Matthews signed his contract and even before that when the press were discussing Mariners possible contract value a year earlier Marner's camp were saying he wasn't taking a discount, etc.

Marner has insisted his value compared to Austin is equal even though it was shown that a center has more value than a winner every time.

I thought he was starting to break out of the funk a couple games ago but the last three games has been pretty rough still. If he was playing like he was the last two years then I wouldn't be as concerned but he only has had one small stretch after Keefe became coach that he looked like the ELC Marner.

I think others are right and that Marner plays better with Tavares and not Matthews style

Yes I agree Marner has not looked like himself one bit other than a brief stint. Must be a confidence issue.

@aadoyle @LeafsFanForSomeReason @palhal @leafs_and_sens_fan @JaredOfLondon @jack_ @Random2152

Alright, so I think it’s time to assess Marner’s play this season. He finished off on a 22 goal 93 point pace. According to his isolated impact charts, he was 6% above the league average in driving offence. He was 13% above the league average in defensive contributions. He had a 54.13 GF%, a 56.61 xGF% & a 52.5% Corsi. It is obvious he did not live up to the contract he signed, but how would you grade him for his performances? Personally, I give a D-.

If he signed for 8.93 nobody would be complaining. The sad thing is he almost got 11mill making him look money hungry rather than team committed

I think it was his dad who was money hungry. The thing is, if Marner signed for 9, the Leafs had 2 million extra to trade for a good defenseman.

It was Leafs management choice too, to or not sign any contracts sign any contracts. They should have not have agreed to the contract with Nylander, Matthews or Marner. An Aho contract was excellent comparable...two seasons in a row, identical stats with Marner and he signed for 8.5m X 5. IMO 5m overpaid for those three guys.

They could’ve used that 5 million cap space to get a good defenseman like DeMelo this off-season.

I give him a B-. D- is harsh for a player who was on pace for 93 points, and according to the stats you just mentioned, was an above-average play driver in both ends which is impressive considering the fact that he's a trusted PK player who scores as much as he does deserves a lot of credit. He'll always be overpaid in my eyes unless he becomes a 120 point player every year for the next 5 years. He was solid, but we expect him to be spectacular. This year, he was not. I'll also cut him some slack for JT's injury and the time if took him to get back to form, and for the tough start under Babcock.

Nylander's contract terms weren't the problem. The length of the negotiation, the fact that it got done with just 5 minutes left to save his season, was the problem. But after that long negotiation, Dubas didn't want to risk it again with Matthews so he caved in and overpaid. Marner than used that as a comparable (even though Matthews is much more valuable). Also, his dad gassing him up has always been a problem (I remember reading an article in the hockey news back in 2015, where his dad complained that Mcdavid was stealing his spotlight) and probably boosted his ego a bit too much.

the ironic thing was with nylander the announcers predicted getting him resigned would be a nightmare as his father had the same attitude when it came to money. As for Matthews that contract was high but if u think about it, If Mcdavid never got 12.5 mill most good players would probably get kane money 10.5 or even less. Whenever a team sets a bar for a good player other teams follow. Karlsson can thank doughty for getting 11.65 mill and so on. The main thing is sure dubas overpaid but at the same time matthews has recently been playing his best hockey yet and may be on the verge of multiple 100point seasons. As for Marner I would give him a B+. I think he is just overthinking things on the team and trying to do to much. He also is on a new line with Matthews so hes getting used to playing with a different center but so far its gone pretty well. Next season Keefe should maybe consider putting the tavares line back together and trying (Nylander - Matthews - Kapenan) as that line could be interesting to see. we will just have to wait and see what dubas plans for this team come the 2020-2021 season

Matthews wasn't overpaid. I will die on this hill. If Matthews got the same 2nd contract Malkin did he'd be paid 5@12.5aav.
Whether you think Matthews is better or worse than Malkin is irrelevant, he is certainly close enough that getting paid a full million less is a fair contract at worst

Yeah Marner got off to a real slow start under Babcock, then got injured, then looked like he was shot out of a cannon during the first 2 weeks under Keefe. He went back to stinking after that. Overall he wasn’t as bad as I described, but he wasn’t good either. His dad must put a lot of pressure on him to be as good as mcDavid.

Yes you’re right but I’m not sure if there’s gonna be a spot on the team for Marner next season.

Didn’t Geno sign for 8 years?

Matthews was overpaid for the term he got. 7 years should have been the minimum for that salary. Mcdavid signed for 3 more years at only 1 million more. That's another comparable. Eichel signed for 8 years at less money (10 million). Mackinnon got criminally underpaid but still, he signed 2 years longer and 5 million cheaper. Dubas should have done better

I think his 3rd contract was 8. His 2nd was 5 years at 8.7 AAV (I'm pretty sure Crosby signed the same thing at the time)