Mitch Marner is probably going to receive a rather unwelcome reception when he makes his first return to Toronto after being traded to Vegas last summer. But like Vince Carter, Frank Mahovlich and other scapegoats, there might come a day when the Maple Leafs fans are back cheering his name.
Go ahead and boo.
Really, give it to him. Get loud. Get angry. And get it out of your system.
Boo him for leaving, for not accepting a trade during his final season, for stubbing his toe in the playoffs, for whatever the reasons you want.
Just give it 20 years or so.
That’s how long it took for Toronto fans to ultimately forgive Vince Carter, who went from being booed to receiving a standing ovation on the night when he was honored by the Raptors.
“I would hope it’s a warm welcome,” goalie Joseph Woll told reporters of the expected fan reaction. “He has nothing but good memories here. I think the fans have experienced a lot of good memories with him, as well. He’s a great guy. It’s unfortunate he’s not with our group anymore, but I think hockey is a place of respect, and I hope that the fans pay him respect. I can’t speak for everyone. I don’t know how everyone feels."
This might be wishful thinking from Woll. But give it time. Fans will eventually get there.
They did with Carter.
Like the legendary Raptor, Marner’s exit from Toronto was also a bit ugly.
A scapegoat for repeated playoff failures, Marner wasn't so much traded as he was run out of town. In his final game as a Leaf, a 6-1 loss in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the playoffs, Marner was booed off the ice. Less than two months later, he essentially orchestrated a sign-and-trade with the Golden Knights.
So Maple Leafs fans, who travelled to Vegas to boo Marner in a game last week, are right to be upset. But like Carter, whose No. 15 jersey was eventually retired, Marner also has the accolades to put him up there with the likes Darryl Sittler, Doug Gilmour, Mats Sundin and the other Leafs’ legends whose banners are hanging at Scotiabank Arena.
"Mitch did a lot for this city," Maple Leafs winger Scott Laughton told reporters ahead of Marner's return on Friday. “He was a really good player for this team for a while."
Indeed, no one has produced as much as Marner did in a Leafs jersey and not been honored when all is said and done.
Marner ranks sixth all-time among Leafs with 741 point in 657 games. With the exception of Auston Matthews, whose No. 34 will one day be honored, all the players above him (Sundin, Sittler, Dave Keon and Borje Salming) have had their numbers honored.
Marner is fourth all-time with 520 assists. He is one of only four Leafs to have scored 100 or more points. His 102-point season last year was the sixth-best season in Toronto history. His 99-point season in 2022-23 ranks ninth. Only Gilmour had more assists in a single season.
Put simply, he was one of the most talented — and most productive — playmakers that ever put on a Leafs jersey. Matthews probably doesn’t score 69 goals without Marner, who had 59 assists that year, feeding him the puck. John Tavares does not score a career-best 47 goals in 2018-19 without playing alongside Marner, who had 68 assists that season.
Marner didn’t win a major award. And he obviously didn't help lead the Leafs to a Stanley Cup. But he was a finalist for the Selke Trophy and was twice voted as a first-team all-star, and was named to the all-rookie Team.
As for the playoffs, yes, Marner’s Leafs were lousy in the spring, winning only two playoff rounds in 13 years. But keep in mind that he made the playoffs in each and every one of those 13 years. Before his NHL arrival, the Leafs went seven miserable years in a row without so much as a sniff. And while Marner gets blamed for not showing up on the scoresheet in important Game 7s, of which the Leafs seemed to lose a lot of, he did score 63 points in 70 playoff games.
That’s the fifth-most of any Leaf.
The four players above him – Gilmour, Sundin, Keon and Sittler – and the four players below him – Wendel Clark, Ted Kennedy, George Armstrong and Frank Mahovlich – all have their numbers honored. That includes Mahovlich, who, like Marner, was frequently booed by Leafs fans, criticized by the media for being "a sensitive, easily-bruised individual," and traded to the rival Red Wings after winning only four Stanley Cups.
"Business is business," Mahovlich said in a news conference at the time, "and if I can't please them here, maybe I'll be able to please them there."
Therein lies the crux of Marner’s biggest criticism: he came up short. A lot. His time with the Leafs, like his longevity in the playoffs, ended earlier than anyone expected. And considering his and the team’s potential, it feels like a lot more was left on the table.
Against those weighty expectations, it’s fair to feel cheated by what could have been. That’s where most of the vitriol will be aimed when Marner comes back home on Friday. But once it’s all out of their system, don’t be surprised if Marner, receives a warmer welcome.
It could even happen on Friday night.
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