When Mitch Marner left Toronto last summer, he did so with a reputation that hung over his head like a cartoon storm cloud.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a storied, Original Six franchise. Marner made his mark on their records during his 657 games wearing his hometown team’s sweater. At the conclusion of his Leafs tenure, Marner was fifth in scoring with 751 points. He was, and still is, fourth in career assists with 520.
But when fans talk about Marner, they don’t bring up his offensive brilliance, or even perennial candidacy for the Selke Trophy. Instead, they refer to him as someone who disappeared when the lights were brightest.
In an article for The Athletic, Jonas Siegel called Marner a ‘two-way powerhouse who helped the Maple Leafs win a ton of games in the regular season.’
“But that wasn’t the player they got in the postseason, at least not often enough, and certainly not in the biggest of games,” he wrote.
“In the [2025] playoffs, the Leafs wormed their way around the Ottawa Senators in the first round and built up a 2-0 series lead against the Panthers only to fritter it away in devastating fashion. Marner again failed to produce when the Leafs needed him most,” Siegel wrote in a different article.
Mark Stone, his teammate with the Vegas Golden Knights, disagreed with the sentiments that Marner wasn’t a ‘clutch’ player.
“As a teammate, I haven’t experienced that,” he said after Marner lifted Canada to a 4-3 overtime victory on Wednesday. “[At] 4 Nations, he gets a huge overtime goal for us [against Sweden], makes an incredible play for the winner [in the gold medal game]. Then tonight, when we need him the most, he makes the play.
“So… I think it’s a Toronto thing,” Stone finished.
Marner is in the middle of his first season with the Golden Knights. Thus, he hasn’t yet gotten the opportunity to fully shed his playoff demons. But Stone brought up three separate ‘big moments’ where Marner came through for his team.
The first ‘big moment’ was Canada’s first game at the 4 Nations tournament. Canada led 3-1 after 40 minutes, but suffered a third-period collapse. But in overtime, Marner answered the call and rescued Canada from disaster with a heroic solo-effort goal.
The second ‘big moment’ came just eight days later in the gold medal game at the 4 Nations tournament. Canada trailed 2-1 in the third period, but Marner set up Sam Bennett for a goal to force overtime. And in overtime, Marner again made a big play, finding Connor McDavid all alone in the slot for the game-winner.
The final– and arguably biggest– ‘big moment’ was a quarterfinal match between Czechia and Canada. After trailing 3-2, Canada scored late in the third period to force overtime. And in overtime, just like he did a year prior against Sweden at 4 Nations, Marner did it himself and scored to send Canada to the semifinals.
“I thought he wasn’t a big game player? He just showed the world,” said Canada teammate Brandon Hagel.
Maybe Mark Stone is right. Maybe it is a ‘Toronto thing.’
