'It's All The Same S***ty Pain': Mitch Marner Wants to Remain with Maple Leafs, Adding Loss to Bruins is 'Only Going To Make Us Better'
Marner is eligible to sign an extension with the Maple Leafs on July 1, however, his future with the organization could still be up in the air.
Like the rest of his Maple Leafs teammates, Mitch Marner conveyed disappointment during Toronto's end-of-season media availability on Monday.
But his future with the organization remains in question.
The team has won just one playoff series since this core's schematics were designed in the fall of 2016. Entering the postseason this year, it felt like Toronto was prepared to take another step — given their success against the Tampa Bay Lightning last year — with the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Simon Benoit, and Joel Edmundson among others.
But, once again, they couldn't reach base camp on what feels like their pursuit to Mount Everest's summit.
"Regardless, from this year to last year, it's all the same s***ty pain, to be honest," Marner said on Monday. "It's never fun going home this early, and it never gets easier."
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As always, several questions come to the forefront about the Maple Leafs heading into the offseason: Will they go in a different direction with coaching as head coach Sheldon Keefe begins his new deal? Is it now time to reconstruct the core? What's next for Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan?
Marner has one more year remaining on a six-year, $65.408 million contract he signed with Toronto in Sept. 2019. He can re-up with the Maple Leafs on July 1, however, questions about his future in this city remain.
He and his teammate, John Tavares, are entering the final year of their deals. The pair also have no-move clauses, making a trade difficult to win. But as Marner stood in front of reporters at Ford Performance Center on Monday, he expressed his desire to remain in the city he was raised in.
"I mean, that would be a goal. I've expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I've grown up here," Marner said when asked about his next contract with Toronto.
"We'll start thinking about that now and try to figure something out."
He added that those discussions, with his team, will likely begin sooner rather than later.
"I'm sure probably within the next week or so I'll start really thinking about that and hitting me. But, obviously, at this moment, I haven't thought about it at all," Marner said. "That will come up now, probably within the next week or so."
The 27-year-old forward has been a Maple Leaf for his entire NHL career. He's had the spotlight glaring at him ever since he was drafted in 2015. Whenever something goes wrong, some talk about Marner being a problem.
"I think he's an amazing human and a great hockey player," Morgan Rielly said about his teammate on Monday. "So any heat or anything like that, I believe, would be undeserved."
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The same sentiment was expressed by Matthew Knies — and the rest of Toronto's players who spoke on Monday afternoon.
"I love him. He's been a great guy. He's a great guy," Knies said. "Extremely vocal and I think he's definitely one of the guys that you know that welcomed me with open arms and was a big reason as to why I got comfortable so quick here."
"I think, in my time year, I've learned that there's always a scapegoat. There's always a narrative. There's always something. We love Mitchy. He's a great teammate. He's a great friend and a competitor," added Auston Matthews.
"In the end, we're also human beings. We take on a lot as players, and rightfully so. When you see guys kind of go through stuff like that, it's hard on everybody, and you just to try to support him and be there for him."
For Marner, though, what is it like to constantly be under that spotlight? Because playing in a market like Toronto, where the city lives and breathes hockey, can sometimes be difficult.
Especially when you're the scapegoat.
"It means the world [to play here]. Obviously, we're looked upon as kind of gods here, to be honest. And [that's] something that you really appreciate," Marner said on Monday.
"The love that you get here from this fan base and this attention is kind of unlike any other. You saw with the Raps (Toronto Raptors) a couple years ago, the love that [the fans] still have for a lot of those players that they had to trade off this year, and that's kind of the love you want."
Whether the organization has reached a crossroads with this core group remains in the air. The Maple Leafs, again, felt like they were approaching a new era of playoff success by coming back from 3-1 down in the series and forcing a Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
However, they just fell short. And that's been the same discussion after seven of the last eight years following their elimination from the playoffs. Yet again, this core feels like the pursuit of glory can be accomplished.
How can you feel the same way after you've knocked on the door for several years only to get the same result?
"Because we're great players. It's not an easy thing to do, to win the Stanley Cup. We know that and everyone knows it. It's the hardest trophy to win for a reason," Marner echoed on Monday.
"Seven games, 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 build adversity and we've been through a lot of that and it's only going to make us better."
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