Mitch Marner is truly a one-of-a-kind talent, but for someone who says he doesn't listen to the media, he certainly likes to bring them up a lot.
Mitch Marner is truly a one-of-a-kind talent, but for someone who says he doesn't listen to the media, he certainly likes to bring them up a lot.
MONTREAL — The Toronto Maple Leafs will have Mitch Marner back in the lineup tonight when they visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday. For both the player and team, it couldn't come soon enough.
The return of a star player with seven games remaining in the regular season for a team that is virtually secured a playoff berth wouldn't normally be such a cause for such relief. But if anything, it gets the talented player focused on playing rather than speaking about his obvious frustrations with the media.
Out since Mar. 7 with a reported high-ankle sprain, Marner broke his silence last week and was quite direct when asked about how he injured himself in the 4-1 loss against the Boston Bruins.
"I've been watching every game. You guys have been talking about it every single game. I think you guys can say whatever you want," Marner said. "It's behind me now. Stuff happened and you just go on from it."
When speaking to reporters after his final practice on Friday before his anticipated return, Marner spoke about how eager he was to get back into the lineup. When the topic of goaltender Ilya Samsonov's nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy came up, Marner once again shifted the focus off of that and brought up his thoughts on the media.
"Just like I spoke on before, I mean, I know I've said a lot of times, you guys are not kind to some people sometimes. And stuff gets said about a lot of people during tough stretches or tough moments," Marner said. "And obviously that doesn't define one person. And what Ilya has done from coming back from the start of the season and just really taking us back into a great position, being the backbone of this team. It's been phenomenal and amazing to see."
The most recent two incidents have not been isolated events. There have been other times this season when Marner has directed his thoughts at the media. One of those incidents was similar to Friday when he made a point to bring up the outside criticism.
"I’ve been in those moments as well. It’s not fun. Everyone’s against you. Everyone is coming at you at all different angles and thinking you’re not good enough," Marner said following Samsonov's 32-save shutout against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 26.
When the Leafs were coming off a four-game losing streak after a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 16, Marner, fairly, defended his team as any player would. "We've got to ignore what anyone else says, we know we're a great hockey team," he said.
But he was asked if he felt frustration seeping in. Marner dismissed it but added, "I think a lot of people on the outside are trying to do that."
Following those comments, Leafs team representatives said Marner was taking a break from the media before speaking against after the Leafs’ 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 20.
Just a few games into the 2023-24 season, rookie phenom Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks were in town and Marner was asked how he felt the rookie was handling the demands of being a popular player in his first year with after teammate Taylor Hall expressed concerns about how much time was demanded of the player.
"Great, you guys aren't easy to please," Marner replied. "You guys have a lot of expectations for him as a lot of people do."
It's one thing for Marner to take an 'Us vs. Them' approach when it comes to the way he approaches his career. Given the immense talent, who are we, the media, to criticize? But when the frequency increases to a point where he's bringing up the issue when asked about other players or teammates, you begin to wonder if it's doing more harm than good.
Marner is a superstar who has earned his keep. But the constant callbacks to media criticism are tiresome. With a couple of weeks to go until the playoffs, Marner's combative approach could be his own undoing. The player hasn't addressed any particular reporter, analyst, blogger or pundit when talking about his criticism, instead electing to paint everyone with the same brush. It's a bold choice. But if you are the player or the team, you have to start looking in the mirror to decide if it's a productive approach.
There's still time to settle down and put the focus where it should be.
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