Why tonight could be pivotal for Marner's legacy and future with Leafs

Mitch Marner has played a lot of big games for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the years.

None might be bigger than tonight.

With the Leafs facing off against Boston at Scotiabank Arena in a do-or-die Game 6, Toronto needs a win to extend their series.

This series hasn’t been easy from a health standpoint for Marner’s co-stars.

Auston Matthews hasn’t featured in the series since the second period of Game 4, and has been ruled out of playing in Game 6. William Nylander, meanwhile, missed the first three games of the series with reported migraine issues and has yet to register on the scoresheet in each of the last two games.

But for Marner, the results of tonight’s game could extend well beyond whether Toronto continues its playoff run or not, as they could end up being a major factor in both his legacy and future in Toronto.

At this point, Marner and everyone who follows the team surely knows how aggressive a market Toronto can be. Earlier in the series, Marner was the subject of a widely panned Toronto Sun cover calling him “The Invisible Leaf” after being held off the scoresheet in the series’ first two games. And if the Leafs face another early exit, you can only bet what talk radio and offseason media coverage will look like.

With one year remaining on his six-year contract after this season, Marner will be eligible for a contract extension come July 1, 2024.

He has a full no-movement clause and the 12th-highest cap hit in the NHL for next season, with the option to hit free agency in Summer 2025, should he choose to do so.

Any trade of Marner this offseason would need his approval, with the forward having the ability to veto any destination he isn’t a fan of.

But that isn’t likely to stop the rumours from spreading, the talk show hosts from talking, or social media and CapFriendly trade proposals from swirling.

Of course, most of that offseason talk gets postponed the longer Toronto keeps playing. If Marner has a few big moments tonight — a key goal, a clutch assist, a big hit — and Toronto ends up winning, Marner will have a big shot at rewriting his narrative for how this year’s playoff run has gone.

But should things not go well for Toronto, none of this is to say that Marner’s time in Toronto has been for naught.

As far as draft picks go, he’s been a pretty successful one.

Picked fourth overall in 2015, he’s second to only Connor McDavid in his draft class in scoring. Since making his NHL debut in 2016-17, he’s sixth leaguewide in assists, and 10th in points, while making three All-Star Games and two end-of-season NHL All-Star teams.

He’s added 50 points in 55 playoff games, but so far, Toronto has made it out of the first round just once in his eight NHL seasons. It’s a complicated history, to say the least, and one that has often left him as a polarizing star in the bright lights of the biggest hockey market in the world.

Fairly or unfairly, Marner’s legacy in Toronto could be defined by his play over the remainder of these playoffs. And if he’s planning for that to be a long run, it all starts tonight.

Leafs 2024 first-round playoff schedule

• Game 6: Thursday, May 2, Boston at Toronto, 8 pm
• Game 7: Saturday, May 4, Toronto at Boston, TBD*

*if necessary

You might also like:
• No Matthews tonight: Leafs star out for Game 6