TORONTO (May 19) — For the first time in nearly a decade with the Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner blew his cover.
Midway through the second period on Sunday night, with he and his weak–kneed ‘mates embarrassing themselves in Game 7 at home, yet again, Marner threw a tantrum in full view of the Sportsnet TV cameras. He had Charles Manson eyes. Saliva drooled from his lower lip. And, the Leafs still got pounded, 6–1, by Florida. Auston Matthews? He was last seen with the familiar long face that forever says “I cannot get this done.” But, neither did he turn down the captaincy or $13¼ million a year. And, that’s where we stand with the Blue and White, folks. In the same miserable, tragic and pointless spot as during the entirety of the Core–4 era. How coincidental that the lone member of the nucleus now certain to depart flashed a bit of emotion during the latest franchise debacle.
Marner won’t be back. But, Matthews will… unless he wants the hell out. There’s a limit to everything, right? The team will continue to aimlessly revolve around him, as per the direction of misguided management when it chose to humiliate John Tavares last summer. After partially fanning on a shot that skittered between Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads for the Game 6 winner, Matthews received royal treatment from the local press. So rare were these playoff moments, we had reporters emphasizing that “Mitch Marner passed the puck” on the goal. Marner to Matthews… one shitty time in 12 second–round games against Florida, and the Core duo were “giants”, according to the Toronto Sun. The wall–to–wall overconfidence of Leafs Nation after the surprise conquest on Friday — heightened by the stubborn unwillingness to recognize that Florida wasn’t terribly into the match — will deepen the anger and resentment here in town today. We are watching an era crumble to a grubby and chaotic end. Finally. Predictably.
MITCH MARNER BARED HIS FANGS DURING A SECOND–PERIOD CONNIPTION AT THE LEAFS BENCH. HIS TEAM IS EMOTIONALLY EMPTY AT THE CORE. HAS BEEN FOR HALF–A–DECADE. SPORTSNET IMAGES
How badly did the Leafs choke in this series? Florida — after losing the first two games at Scotiabank Arena — stood a 13.7% chance (based on Stanley Cup playoff history) of winning four of the next five. That’s how badly.
You knew that if the Leafs were going to mess up Game 7, it would be done with ghusto. There isn’t enough character on the club to bow gracefully against a determined champion. And, I’ll return, for the millionth time, to my mantra in this corner about a Stanley Cup team’s near–mandatory requirement of a legitimate No. 1 defenseman.
Florida has Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad. Carolina has the all–round best of the lot in Jaccob Slavin. Dallas has Miro Heiskanen. Edmonton, Evan Bouchard. The Leafs? Morgan Rielly. Not good enough this year, or at any point in his otherwise credible Leafs career. Until that blue line mainstay is found, the longest Stanley Cup drought (now 58 years) will continue. Somehow, with all of its financial might, the Toronto club hasn’t possessed a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman in nearly half–a–century, since Borje Salming was airlifted out of Sweden. Chris Tanev was a solid addition this season and he played his heart out every game. But, he’s one–dimentional. The Leafs absolutely must unearth a player that can control the pace of a game from the back end. The way Salming did. The way Cale Makar executes for Colorado; Heiskanen for Dallas. Or, the elite puck–movement of Erik Karlsson for years with Ottawa, San Jose and Pittsburgh. The Maple Leafs have been devoid of this essential component since the 1970’s became the 80’s. That’s astounding, when you pause to consider it. Four–and–a–half decades.
Right now, it’s Matthews, William Nylander and… ? Marner will walk on July 1. If management can tear itself from Tavares, the club will have roughly $22 million to begin reshaping the roster. As much as it possibly can with the spineless Matthews still a central figure. Management will be asked about placing “everything on the table” after last year’s Game 7 defeat (against Boston)… and doing zippo to fundamentally alter the team. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment swims in money earned off the Leafs logo. Neither has ownership been frugal, as back in the Ballard, Stavro, Teachers’ era. But, no person in the Brendan Shanahan administration has shown the character or courage to pound on a desk and yell “we can’t keep doing this every year!” Instead, amid overwhelming and incontestable evidence of a nucleus without heart, they just keep RUNNING IT BACK — quite frankly, like nimwits that have never watched the sport. The local populace isn’t hard to sway. Trust me, the masses of Leaf supporters who swear off the team forever on social media (it’s an annual rite of spring) will return with abundantly false hope again in September. It’s the Toronto hockey cycle; has been for nearly six decades, and it permanently allows for ownership and management to take the path of least resistence. What to do now, with Matthews unmovable?
A quick word about Nylander: He was every Leaf fan’s darling against the overmatched Senators in Round 1, but he disappeared with the others when the heat intensified in the Florida series. This club has long been constructed for the months beginning in October and ending in mid–April. Nothing more. And, we’ve known it for ages.
As such, how excited should we become when No. 34 embarks on a scoring splurge next November? How many more gripping stories will we read about Auston being the “best bet” to eclipse Alex Ovechkin’s career goal total?
It’s just meaningless drivel foisted upon Maple Leaf supporters in lieu of legitimate accomplishment. I’d like to hear from “insiders” such as Chris Johnston, who insisted to all of Leafs Nation (on TSN and in the Toronto Star) that Matthews absolutely needed to be retained lucratively; no thought process required. As written here at the time, Auston should never have played another game for the Blue and White after his cowering performance against Florida in 2023. Instead, he was rewarded with the richest contract in the National Hockey League. Somehow, he managed to outdo even himself this spring, with three goals in 13 games. What trick should we watch for next?
Heartless. Gutless. Soulless. Deserving epitaths of the Core–4 Leafs era.
EMAIL: HOWARDLBERGER@GMAIL.COM
Why break the money making machine? More profits year after year in dangling the carrot. Why would they (mgt and ownership) ever allow you to taste and eat the carrot? Dangling makes more money, eating it destroys the money machine. Winning the cup is a threat and I have believed that for years. Raise the optimism, sell jerseys, ads and merchandise and such, but don’t win, just let them spend!
Edit: *justified* cynicism
Besides some writers’ (Howard, Cathal Kelly) cynicism over the last few years, there was something else that was gnawing at me. Ryan O’Reilly came on board at the trade deadline two years ago. We beat Tampa in six, then lost in five to Florida. O’Reilly is a southern Ontario boy, but didn’t want to resign here. At this year‘s trade deadline, he refused to be traded to the leafs. Somehow, I don’t think we’re going to get somebody like a Bennett, unless this core is broken up. Could even be one guy – – the one with the C..
Bitchy Marner screaming at the bench to get going sporting a dry head of hair mid game 7 is the perfect encapsulation as to why they’ve failed every year. Hanging out on the half wall and spinning off checks all playoffs is definitelythe way to lead your team to victory. The trainer hasn’t had to tend to him since he entered the league. The ‘Captain’ proclaiming we had ‘passengers’ tonight has gotta be a satire headline in The Onion. At least his teammates were on the bus. If the NHL were to be compared to real life, McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Rantanen etc would be Marines and Matthews & Marner would be goofing around working the drive thru at Wendy’s.
Howard it’s one thing to lose a game 7 in overtime where Bobrovsky stands on his head,but to lose your last 2 home games by a combined score of 12-2,to completely lay down in game 7,that is the signature moment of this era,matthews had the audacity to complain about too many passengers on the train?Maybe he should look in the mirror and think about who was the first passenger on board.
Howard. Champions die hard. When the Panthers came out like they were shot out of cannon, the Leafs looked inept and bewildered. That’s what desperation looks like. They were not prepared for the onslaught. That ultimate responsibly falls on the players. They were just not ready for what was waiting for them. I would assume they were still patting themselves on the back for Game 6. You can bet your boots the Panthers didn’t forget Game 6. To get blown out like that at home, is a damn shame. That’s on all of them, except their fans, who deserve much better. Ron Asselstine
Last night’s game perfectly defined the difference between being “choked“ and “suffocated“.
Two things for sure: 1) Those jerseys tossed on to the ice will be cleaned and resold in the team shop. 2) The former owners will buy new ones as replacements when the captain has 10 goals in the first 12 games next fall.
Nothing forgives and forgets like a Leaf fan.
No Heart? I wonder why? Who runs the team?
Maybe stop giving out no-trade contracts to RFAs, especially letting contracts expiring the year players reach UFA status.
They will NEVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER get any farther in the playoffs with vacant-stare captain underpants as the focus of the team. How can it be so obvious, yet so many continue to pretend that this guy is anything but a prima donna passenger?
For him to say there were “too many passengers” is the ultimate in self-delusion. If he looked in the mirror maybe he’d see the same thing I see; a soft, privileged, spoiled man-child who lacks even the slightest shred of leadership capabilities, internal drive or desire. He is the poster child for someone who mistakes arrogance for pride. That could also describe Marner of course. So in the next few days we’ll have the yearly, “Everything is on the table”, “we’re in the results business”, “these guys care deeply”, and more blah-blah-blah. When jerseys are being thrown on the ice and people are walking out early it should be an embarrassment to the ENTIRE leadership group of the organization. From Coach right up to the c-suite. I’m sure Berube and Treliving feel it, but the rest of them? Not a chance. Not a maple leafs chance in game 7 do these drones feel anything while insulated by all that money. To hell with them all.
I really, really, really hope Matthews requests a trade!!! Get rid of this so-called core 4 and get real players. The 4th line got 2 breakaways in the 1st period. The top 2 lines did NOTHING as usual. Finally, predictably, YES. Rielly is the poorest defensively that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, Salming was in the Ballard era because he was amazing. The fans were crying for core 4 change last year then, after a few weeks, they all disappeared and forgot about it. Flakes. They’ll probably do the same thing this year. Marner will be re-signed and we’ll have 6-8 more years of this garbage until they’re all 35! Thanks for nothing, losers. Management needs to throw Shanahan out the door! Totally agreed, Howard, and I’ve been making the same main points in comments for 5 years or so now!
Leafs got what they deserved. Management has got to go. Shanahan, Treliving for the disastrous deadline moves he made, and Brandon Pridham for signing the contracts that paralyze the team from building a team. After that, the lineup has to change because it’s wrong. Tavares must sign somewhere else. Rielly must be bought out. With the top three players being finesse the next two cannot be buttery soft and inept physically and defensively. Morgan is a champion floater. With Marner yelling at his mates and Matthews saying there are passengers, it’s clear that they aren’t satisfied with the makeup of the roster. Marner won’t resign with Toronto if management won’t make the right decisions regarding who to keep and who to let go, before adding new players. Marner and Matthews are as frustrated with their team and the management as the fans are. With the right moves this offseason an opportunity for a championship may yet be salvaged. But without making the right moves it will be over and Leafs will miss the playoffs next season.
The team IS built around Marner and Mathews, THAT’S THE PROBLEM NOT THE SOLUTION. I see no indication that either of them has ever looked in a mirror for any reason but self admiration. Marner yelling at his teammates and Mathews calling them passengers looks more like the ultimate in arrogance and ignoring their own lack of contribution than anything else. They might miss the playoffs next year, but with Mathews as captain they’re not getting out of the first round anyways so who cares?
Pelley will go to the mic sometime this week and tell everyone he stil believes in Shanahan or he will say they mutually agreed it was time to move on. A soft landing for Shanahan. If Pelley was smart, he would go down the 401 to London and do whatever it takes to get Mark Hunter as President of Hockey Operations and discard Treliving. Hunter must be tired of winning OHL trophies. I will never understand Shanahan’s infatuation with the Core-4 and how he believed they could get it done after failing miserably, so many times. He only had to look in the mirror to see the kind of guys that win playoff hockey. It’s simply inexplicable.
There are two players you NEVER trade from your team – your franchise player and an outstanding defenceman. We have the first (Matthews) but not the second. Marner, and likely Tavares, will be gone. I hope they convince Rielly to go. He’s gone completely stale.
PS when he does move on, and he will this summer, I admit I’ll feel bad to see Marner go. I’ll never forget when he first joined the team from junior hockey – his smile, positive character, and so much talent. In a strange way this decade disappointed me more than the Ballard years.
May I ask, Alex, why you call Matthews a “franchise” player?
400 goals by the age of 27 not enough howard?
Yzerman didn’t win a cup till 32.
Zzzzzzzzzzzz.
You were a bit more indulgent after Game 6….
I gave them credit where due.
I’m ready for Mitch Marner to play on a line with Jack Eichel as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights next season. Knowing the Golden Knights, they’ll find a way to get Mitch Marner in Free Agency even if it means trading a couple of contracts away.
The Curse of Frank Mahovlich rolls on for another year for the Maple Leafs while the Curse of Patrick Roy will continue on Canadian Teams (Toronto Maple Leafs included) if the Edmonton Oilers don’t win the Stanley Cup this year.
Poor Goaltending also did in the Maple Leafs once again this season. They’ve lacked Vezina Trophy Goaltending since Ed Belfour. The closest they’ve had to a Vezina Trophy Calibre Goalie in the past 20 Years was when they had Frederik Andersen who will try to spoil the Panthers bid of another Stanley Cup in the Eastern Conference Final for the Carolina Hurricanes. I believe the Hurricanes would’ve swept an Eastern Conference Final against the Maple Leafs.
One thing that needs to stop is the term Core Four being used to describe the likes of Marner, Matthews, Tavares, and Nylander. The New York Yankees should send a Cease and Desist Letter to members of the Hockey Media for using that term which was given to Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera during the Yankees Dynasty from the late 1990’s to early 2000’s.
The Maple Leafs surely aren’t winning the Atlantic Division next year. Heck, they might not make the Playoffs next season with the likes of the Canadiens and Senators improving, the Red Wings likely returning to contention with a full year of Todd McLellan behind the bench, and the Rangers bouncing back with Mike Sullivan as Head Coach.
Now might be the time for the Maple Leafs to begin a rebuild just like the Boston Bruins.