On Saturday afternoon, when I saw the Toronto Blue Jays dismantling the New York Yankees 10-1 on Sportnet, the NHL promos network continued to perform for the coming season. I enjoyed most of them, but one clip wore thin the second time I saw it. There was Mitch Marner, now in a Vegas Golden Knights -Uniform, who flashed that familiar grin and heard the return of the competition.
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Nothing against Marner; He was a great player for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But seeing him in gold and black reminded me of how little I will miss him. What I am especially tired, however, is the endless conversation about Auston Matthews and whether he can thrive without Marner. [Sadly, in retrospect, I probably added to the redundancy.]
The fact is, I don’t know exactly how it will come out – but I do know that this question was asked far too often, and it’s time for us to calm it.
Time to stop asking the Matthews and having the regular season play
Every day or two it looks like the same old question is towed back in the spotlight with the Maple Leafs. It is as if Marner has left the city, but is really not gone.
Can Matthews still be Matthews without Marner? You would think after nine seasons of evidence, the answer would be clear. Yet we are here again, with hockey talk shows and social media threads that are running circles about how the Toronto top scorer will “adjust” without his old running mate.
Here is my point: Matthews does not adapt to the absence of Marner. Marner was the one who has adapted to the dominance of Matthews all the time.
The Separation: Matthews has outgrown the Marner Partnership
There was a time when the partnership was completely logical. Marner was the smart set -up man, Matthews the cold -blooded Finisher. Together they produced highlight-reel nights and stunning figures. But while Matthews grew in the complete player, today – bigger, stronger, defensively disciplined and more confident in his own game – the balance shifted.
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He doesn’t need anyone particularly special to feed him. Matthews is The system now. The attack flows through him because he demands it, but because that is where the Puck belongs if you have the best goal scorer of the competition that can also kill punishments and take trekkings from the defense zone.
This is what I saw at the time I covered the Maple Leafs: Marner needed Matthews to become a star. Matthews no longer needs Marner to stay one.
From the first day: a natural, no project
Go back to the 2016 design. Matthews Arrived in Toronto as the first overall choiceand from his very first NHL game – that Four -target explosion against the senators of Ottawa – He was the real deal. He did not need years of tutoring. In his Rookie season, He won the calder trophy And finished second in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Race. That is not a development. That is dominance, and almost from the first day.
Even during the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, when injuries held him for pieces, he was still against 30 goals every time. During his first three seasons he played 33 fewer matches and only scored 22 fewer goals than a Prime Alex Oveechkin – and he did it without Marner. The dependence myth had already started cracking.
The proof of the elite score of Matthews was always present
Jump forward to 2022–23. Another injury, another season of 40 goals. In 30 games, mainly skating with William Nylyer instead of Marner, Matthews scored at the same pace. His finishing touch does not fade, depending on who passes him the puck – it travels with him.
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And then 2023–24 – his masterpiece came. Nine of nine goals. A selke Trophy finalist. The best all-round forward in the NHL. Nylyer was, in just ten games with him, on pace for 80 assists. Max Domi, more than 17 games, followed 62. You don’t have to be a mathematician to see the pattern: play with Matthews and your statistics balloon.
Marner’s reality check
That is not a chance of Marner. He is an excellent player – creative, fast and (his best quality) defensively responsible. But he is not in the class of Matthews. His CV says it all: one second place for the Selke trophy. In the meantime, the trophy case of Matthews three Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies, a heart trophy, a Ted Lindsay Award, a Calder -Trophy and another Selke Trophy nomination.
Now Marner goes to Las Vegas, where owner Bill Foley will not have the same patience as fans and organization of Toronto. It is one thing to play under control in Toronto – it is another to meet the expectations of an owner who expects a Stanley Cup, no conversation about why the team is not entirely.
What is Matthews?
Matthews has only one real opponent. That is his own health. If he is healthy, he is the second best player in the competitions and the best on some nights. The Maple Leafs do not have to worry about who is gone. They must find a first -line winger who can find chemistry with Matthew Knies and Matthews. Could Max Domi be; could be Matias Maccelli; Can someone else be. Or lets head coach Craig Berube Matthews and Nylander hold together.
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Here is a bet that, if Matthews remains healthy, whoever finds himself as a first -line partner will have a running season. So again, why does everyone worry about Matthews so much? Because in Toronto there are likes to imagine problems where there are none.
Matthews does not have to be saved. He just needs someone to give him the puck.
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