If you read the comments to posts on The Hockey Writers, the Toronto Maple Leafs fanbase has made one thing loud and clear this offseason. It’s time to move on from Mitch Marner. Social media is flooded with calls for accountability and sarcastic farewells for a player many feel has worn out his welcome. Hockey articles daily list alternative landing places for the polarizing hometown player.
Related: Mitch Marner’s 3 Best Landing Spots in Free Agency
But there’s one person who doesn’t agree at all. “I love the guy and love coaching him,” said new head coach Craig Berube. “He’s a hell of a player.”
So, if you’re buying what Berube is saying, we’re left with a strangely revealing question: Who knows Mitch Marner’s value to the team better—thousands of fans watching from the outside, or the guy who’s spent the past year coaching him?
Two Very Different Perspectives on Mitch Marner
Marner has become Toronto’s most divisive star. For many fans, he symbolizes everything that’s gone wrong with the current core: too soft, expensive, and inconsistent when it matters most. His $10.9 million cap hit has become a rallying cry for change.
Yet here comes Berube, a tough-as-nails, former NHL enforcer and Stanley Cup-winning coach brought in specifically to fix what’s broken in Toronto, offering unprompted praise for the player fans most want gone.
Is Berube out of touch? Or is there something deeper happening here? Why the discord?
Hockey Coaching vs. Hockey Commentary
Let’s be honest—fans don’t get to sit in the dressing room. They usually don’t watch practice. They don’t see how players respond to being challenged or interact with teammates when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Berube does. And what’s fascinating is that Berube isn’t a soft coach. He’s not here to coddle. He’s here to push, pull, and drag if he has to. So, when he says he loves coaching Marner, should that carry weight?
Related: Maple Leafs Sign-and-Trade With Marner a Realistic Possibility
It might be easy for fans to write Marner off as the problem. It’s harder for someone like Berube, who sees the game through the lens of structure, accountability, and raw ability. If he’s all-in on Marner, shouldn’t that at least give us pause?
What Does Berube See in Marner?
Berube didn’t win a Stanley Cup by handing out compliments. His coaching style is rooted in structure, work ethic, and two-way responsibility—traits fans often argue Marner lacks when it matters most. So why the praise?
Berube might see untapped potential, not just in Marner’s elite skillset, but in how he can be molded. Marner’s defensive metrics in the regular season are strong, and he’s a top-tier penalty killer. In a system that demands accountability, Berube might believe Marner could become the kind of high-compete, two-way winger every coach dreams of.
Maybe that’s the disconnect: fans see what Marner hasn’t been; Berube sees what he could become under good (his) leadership.
Why Does Berube Love Coaching Marner?
This is the part that baffles fans. Berube is known for coaching teams with edge, physicality, and no-nonsense structure. That’s not how most fans would describe Marner, especially after another playoff where he looked anything but gritty. So why the rave coach’s review?
Related: What Can Maple Leafs Fans Expect From Craig Berube?
It might be that Berube sees a different version of Marner up close. Not the highlight-reel winger from Sportsnet clips, but the guy who logs tough penalty-kill minutes, takes defensive matchups seriously, and quietly buys into his structure. Coaches love consistency, and Marner rarely misses a detail in the regular season. Berube seems to trust what he gets from Marner in every game.
Or maybe Berube’s confident (or arrogant) side believes he can get more out of him than others have. That under his watch, Marner’s best hockey grit is still to come. The fans might be out, but Berube isn’t.
Is There Any Reason Berube Would Be Disingenuous?
The question that first came to me after I read the quote was whether there was a strategic reason for Berube NOT to tell HIS truth about Marner. Given Berube’s reputation as a straight shooter, is he the kind of guy to throw out compliments just for the sake of it? Is he being strategic? Perhaps, but that’s not his reputation.
I have to fall back to the position that Berube sees Marner every day, while I don’t. When he says he loves coaching Marner, I have to believe it’s not fluff — he means it. He sees a lot more than I do. He’s in the room, watching players work in practice, respond to tough coaching, and fit with the team off the ice. That’s stuff you don’t get from highlights or social media rants.
Plus, Berube’s not new to handling tough players or running hard-nosed teams. He wouldn’t be praising him publicly if he didn’t see real value in Marner. Being honest and upfront is part of how he’s earned respect. Considering all that, I have only one landing spot. He’s being genuine here.
There’s also a good chance Berube believes Marner can morph upward under his system. That’s probably why he’s putting his faith in him, even if fans are ready to move on. Coaches don’t waste words on players they think are dead weight. The bottom line for me is that if Berube’s backing Marner, maybe it’s worth holding off on the move-him talk to see what happens next.
Should Fans’ Perceptions Be Considered When Running the Team?
There’s an ironic twist: fans are ready to run Marner out of town, while the coach who will run the bench is eager to coach him. In his season-ending media conversation, Keith Pelley (president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment) suggested his team wanted to connect more with the Maple Leafs fans — get to know them better, and vice versa. What should be made of that in this case of the divide between fans and the Maple Leafs coach?
Related: Will Craig Berube’s Tough Love Lead to Maple Leafs Success?
So, who should run the team? The passionate, disappointed, long-suffering fanbase or the Cup-winning coach paid to deliver results? Maybe the better question is: What if Berube sees a version of Marner we haven’t yet seen—a more mature, playoff-ready version he believes he can unleash?
Fans don’t have to agree with Berube. Many won’t. But if you bring in a coach for his vision and leadership, shouldn’t you at least give him the chance to prove he’s right?
Marner’s time in Toronto might be running short. But if Berube believes in him—and is willing to stake the remainder of his tenure on that belief—maybe we should watch what happens.
