2 Things Can Be True About Marner’s Playoff History

After nine incredible regular seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs and an equal number of disappointing playoff appearances, Mitch Marner moved on to what he hoped would be greener pastures in Vegas. So far, it has worked out exactly as he had planned.

The Vegas Golden Knights are up in Round 2 against the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2, after eliminating the Utah Mammoth in six games in Round 1, in large part because of Marner’s two-goal, three-point night in Game 6 to send him to just his third second round of his career.

“Yeah, it was his best game of the series,” Vegas head coach John Tortorella said. “Mitchy has been doing a lot of little things people don’t understand, some small little plays, but he had some big plays tonight that everybody could see.”

The simple truth is that Marner has arguably been the best player dressed in gold so far this postseason, and on some nights, it hasn’t been arguable at all. Through 11 games, Marner has six goals and 16 points, both of which are career highs in the postseason.

The other truth, one that has been a topic of conversation both in Toronto and in Vegas, is that he never rose to the occasion like he has this year in big spots in the playoffs for the Maple Leafs. Because of his recent success, there seems to be a sort of amnesia regarding the last nine years. Like the fans and the media have been speaking and writing fiction about the past, this season proves the playoff performer he’s been all along.

The fact is that both things can be, and are, true. And that’s ok.

The Truth About Marner in Toronto

From 2017 to 2025, Marner played 70 playoff games for the Maple Leafs. On the surface, his production was fairly good, racking up 13 goals and 63 points. However, it’s when he produced those points that had everyone in Toronto up in arms. In Games 1-4 across his nine playoff runs north of the border, Marner had eight goals and 35 points in 28 games. In Games 5-7, he had just six assists in 14 games, including just one assist in the last three games of last year’s Round 2 loss to the Florida Panthers that the Maple Leafs lost in seven games.

No one in Toronto blames Marner and only Marner for the lack of success that the Maple Leafs have had come playoff time. It was a group effort, or a lack thereof. We can pull up stats for Auston Matthews and William Nylander, and they would tell the same story. The Maple Leafs as a whole could not get the job done when the moments mattered the most. When the lights were at their brightest. That’s just a fact. To be more specific, Games 5 and 7 against the Panthers last spring were two of the worst playoff games that we had seen in Marner’s tenure, and they were both in Toronto.

Tortorella Defends Marner

That’s why, when Tortorella stuck up for his player after Game 3 in Anaheim, this conversation was taken to another level.

“(Marner) is very confident in what he brings,” Tortorella said after Game 3. “You know, people give him (stuff) all the time about playoffs and this and that, and I don’t think it bothers him a lick. He just plays. He’s a hockey player, and I’m glad he’s doing some things for us.”

“You guys don’t see the stuff he does,” Tortorella said the following day. “People here, people in Toronto, all the people that talk about this guy, they don’t see any of the things that he brings to a game even if he doesn’t score a goal. I’ve known that coaching against him.”

“That narrative is a bunch of bull****. Like I said last night, Mitch doesn’t care. Mitch is a pro. He’s a terrific player, one of the top players in the league and he plays for us.”

Listen, I have a lot of respect for Tortorella, and I know that I’ve never been behind the scenes with Marner, but none of that is true, and I have to believe that Tortorella knows that. We all know how incredible Marner can be, even when he doesn’t score a goal. Whether it’s defensively, on the penalty kill, or generating offence for his teammates, Marner is one of the best and most effective wingers in the NHL. Problem is, he never did that in a series-clinching moment in Toronto, and neither did anyone else. That narrative is not bull-bleep.

Now, Tortorella saying that “Mitch doesn’t care” is another thing that has put an unfair light back on Marner’s time in Toronto. Again, I’m not with Marner when no one is around, but it’s been reported on and is fairly obvious that he absolutely did care, and it definitely did bother him “a lick.” Maybe you’re a bigger man than I am, but it would bother me, too. There’s no shame in it. We’re all human, and the media and fans were really hard on Marner. I’d probably want to go to Vegas, too.

The Truth About Marner in Vegas

To put it simply, Marner has been one of, if not the best, players for the Golden Knights this spring. In 11 games, he has been held off the score sheet just three times, and two of those ended up being losses.

In Game 1 against the Ducks, the Golden Knights took eight minutes’ worth of penalties in the first half of the first period, and they shut out a Ducks’ power play that had been almost unstoppable in the first round. There were moments of that stretch where Marner was the most noticeable player on the ice for either team.

Heading into Game 3, the Ducks had been the better team in both games, and the Golden Knights were lucky to be tied 1-1. In Game 3, Vegas put a 6-2 beatdown on Anaheim, and Marner was at the forefront with four points, including a hat trick.

Through five games against the Mammoth, the Golden Knights had been playing with fire for almost the whole series and were somewhat fortunate to be up 3-2 heading into Game 6. Well, after Utah gave Vegas all they could handle up until that point, the Golden Knights dominated 5-1, and Marner game through with his biggest series-clinching performance of his career.

The Golden Knights have an opportunity to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Final on Thursday night, and it is very likely that they would not be in this position if it were not for Marner.

Both Things Are True, and That’s Ok

The point of this article is not to highlight all of the negative storylines that surround Marner and his time in Toronto. Marner was an incredible Maple Leaf. One of the best and most productive in franchise history. Whether it’s for clicks or people actually believe it, there are a lot of people who, because of Marner’s production this spring, are pointing the finger at the media and fans in Toronto as the problem. I mean, we can definitely add to the problem, sure, but Marner’s playoff narrative in Toronto passes both the eye test and the stat test. It is what it is. And like I already said, he wasn’t the only one. Every star player on the Maple Leafs is to blame.

But, at the same time, Marner has had a very strong postseason for the Golden Knights. Some people have chalked it up to the fact that, in his time in Toronto, the Maple Leafs almost always played Stanley Cup contenders in what was a loaded Atlantic Division, and that the competition he has faced so far this postseason has given him a much easier path. I understand that argument, and I guess I can’t really push back, except for the fact that this is the NHL, and nothing is a cake walk.

Also, the Golden Knights haven’t been that good this season, at least not by their standards. They certainly weren’t the Maple Leafs from 2024-25. Playoff success was not guaranteed to Vegas this year, despite playing what some would call inferior opponents.

Marner had a lot of postseason struggles in Toronto. He also has had a heck of a spring in Vegas. Both things can be true, and that’s ok.