Under the microscope, Mitch Marner moves into seventh place on the Leafs’ all-time goalscoring list

TORONTO – Mitch Marner’s love for the Maple Leafs is no secret.

After a tumultuous offseason filled with rumors, the star winger’s future with the team he supported as a child was in doubt.

Marner has put that chatter aside – at least for now – and impressed those around him with his approach.

The skilled winger scored his first two points of the 2024-25 season with a goal and an assist in Toronto’s 4-2 home opener over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

“I’ve watched Mitch from afar for a long time,” said Leafs head coach Craig Berube, who was hired in May to energize an organization with just one playoff series win in the NHL’s salary cap era. “He’s a very good two-way player, an all-situations player … a great teammate.”

“Have a lot of energy – that’s a lot of good, a lot of good.”

Marner’s performance on Saturday moved him past Ron Ellis into seventh place on the Leafs’ all-time scoring list with 641 points in 579 regular-season games.

“It’s a really, really cool accomplishment,” said the product from nearby Thornhill, Ontario. “I’ve talked a thousand times about being from here and loving being part of this team growing up. It’s really cool to have your name with some of the greats who played with this jersey and this logo.”

Whether or not Marner would continue to wear those blue and white threads was a hot topic this summer after the Leafs were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.

The 27-year-old forward took his share of blame for last spring’s failures, but the loss to the Boston Bruins in seven games in 2024 caused even more hate from fans than usual.

Management publicly pondered changes to Toronto’s high-paid, underperforming core, but settled on only one major move: firing head coach Sheldon Keefe and replacing him with Stanley Cup winner Berube.

Marner, who is in the final year of a high-paying contract and has been eligible to sign a contract extension since July 1, might have followed his former backup coach out of town had his current contract not come with a full no-movement clause.

Toronto winger Matthew Knies said the noise surrounding his linemate is nothing new.

“He puts pressure on him all the time… I think we all do,” said Knies, who scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. “It’s exactly the type of market we’re in, but he was a pro at it. He was very mature about it. He doesn’t seem to mind at all.”

“I notice that it doesn’t reach him. He’s playing his game and is on fire at the moment. We want it to stay that way.”

Marner delivered a great performance early in the third period Saturday before outrunning a defender and firing a shot over Joel Blomqvist’s blocker for a 3-1 lead.

“He was great,” said Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, a teammate of Marner’s a decade ago with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. “His attention to detail in the defensive zone and his edge work are amazing. Off the ice he’s a fun guy and brings color to this room.”

“Someone who is extremely valuable to our team.”

Marner tipped his hat to those around him after passing Ellis on the Leafs’ all-time points list.

“Without them this wouldn’t be possible,” he said. “There are five men on the ice, there are 23 every time. A big thank you goes to everyone around me who helped me get to this point.”

“It’s cool, but we’re trying to do something cooler and bigger.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2024.

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press