Despite an off-season filled with drama and questions about his future, Mitch Marner remains happy where he is.
“I love being here, I’ve been saying that from Day 1,” the Toronto Maple Leafs forward said Wednesday. “I’m very fortunate and lucky to be a Maple Leaf.”
Marner’s future with his hometown club has been a hot topic this summer. The 27-year-old is entering the final year of his contract but the team might not have the cap space to pay him what he wants. That’s largely due to prior extensions awarded to Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly.
Marner’s role with the team was also under the microscope after this spring’s first-round loss to the Boston Bruins in seven games. Marner scored 26 goals and 85 points in 69 games last season, but the Bruins held him to just one goal and two assists in the series.
One person is sticking up for Marner, however.
Former teammate Zach Bogosian said in an interview this week that the criticism Marner faces is unfair in his eyes.
“I don’t understand why everyone is always up his ass about everything. I mean, that kid is such a good kid,” Bogosian said on the Cam and Strick podcast. “He’s a good leader, he’s always trying to take care of everyone around the locker room.
“I’ve played with a lot of guys, he is as good of a person and a teammate as I’ve ever seen.”
Regardless of the drama, Marner controls his own destiny with a no-move clause and appears, for now, to have his focus squarely on helping the Maple Leafs compete for the Stanley Cup.
“We’re just excited, it’s a lot of the same group that we’ve had,” Marner said of the upcoming season. “We know we’re a great team and it’s just about making sure every single summer you put the work in, you get ready to go and you get geared up for the new one.”