Auston Matthews and William Nylander come to the defense of the Toronto Maple Leafs' "scapegoat."
Auston Matthews and William Nylander come to the defense of the Toronto Maple Leafs' "scapegoat."
Two days after losing yet another Game 7 to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs held their exit meetings on Monday — and once again answered the same questions.
Why didn't they go further? How close are they? And is it finally time to break up a core that has been together for the past eight years by trading away Mitch Marner?
"It's the same s--- pain, to be honest," said Marner. "It's not an easy thing to do — win the Stanley Cup. We know that. Everyone knows that. It's the hardest trophy to win for a reason. It's seven games and it's an all-out war out there every single game.
"It's never going to get easier. It's always a challenging thing. Challenges obviously build adversity. We've been through a lot of that and it's only going to make us better."
Here are some other highlights from the exit interviews:
Mitch Marner
The 27-year-old, who has another year remaining on a six-year, $65.41-million contract, can sign an extension on July 1. Whether that happens is not yet clear.
But Marner, who scored a goal and three points in seven games, wants to remain in Toronto.
"That’d be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here," he said. "We’ll start thinking about that now and trying to figure something out … It means the world to me.
"We’re looked upon as kind of Gods."
Auston Matthews
Matthews missed the final period in Game 4 and all of Games 5 and 6, revealed that he suffered an illness early on, but was purposely mysterious about what else might have been affecting him.
"I got really, really sick after Game 2," said Matthews, who had a goal and four points in five games. "I was still kind of trying to recover going into Game 4, I took a weird hit and couldn't go any longer. That's about as detailed as I'll go into it. Obviously, it was really tough. Really frustrating to watch."
When asked about the speculation that Marner could be traded, Matthews said, "there's always going to be a scapegoat."
"We love Mitchy," he added. "He's a great teammate, a great friend and a great competitor. In the end, we're all human beings and you take on a lot as players — rightfully so. When you see someone go through something like that, it's hard on everybody."
John Tavares
The captain of the Leafs came to the defense of coach Sheldon Keefe, who many suspect will be replaced in the off-season.
"I think he's been great," said Tavares. "I think that the team year in and year out, you see improvements and the consistency that the team has shown throughout his time here… he's done a really good job."
Morgan Rielly
As the longest-serving member of the Maple Leafs, this first-round exit seemed to hit Rielly the hardest. Perhaps it's because he senses that a significant change is finally coming.
"This group won't ever be exactly the same," said Rielly, who has played 11 seasons in Toronto. "That's just the reality. As players, we're all aware of this. That's just the business."
William Nylander
Despite missing the first three games of the playoffs because of migraines, no player had a better post-season than Nylander. He had three goals in Games 6 and 7.
"We battled to get back into the series," he said. "Not happy with the result. But what we have in here is great."
When asked about Marner, Nylander called his teammate "an incredible human being" and "a friend."
"Love the guy," he added. "There's always somebody getting heat in here, regardless of what it is. That's just the way it is."
Ilya Samsonov
The pending UFA said he has watched the overtime goal that David Pastrnak scored "20 times — maybe more" but added that he believes he "made the right decision."
As for his contract status, Samsonov hopes to remain in Toronto.
"You guys know my answer. I love this city. I love everybody on this team. But you never know," he said, adding that he would like to sign something longer in term. "The last three years I'm working with a one-year deal contract. It's not too easy... I would like to get something with more stability."