Copyright yardbarker
Mitch Marner is gone. Toronto Maple Leafs fans are still digesting it, but here’s the reality: the Maple Leafs might be just fine without him. In fact, there are several reasons to believe this team could even be better. Reason 1. The Maple Leafs Core Still Carries the Load Let’s get real. Marner’s hockey IQ is top-tier, sure. But he was never the engine. In fact, a case can be made that he needed Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares – the other key members of the team’s so-called Core Four. Those three could also carry the puck through traffic, create offense, and score from anywhere. Morgan Rielly has been a solid playmaker from the blue line for a decade. Matthews and Nylander aren’t just finishers—they make plays that leave defenders flat-footed. With that kind of firepower, Marner’s passing, which looked flashy in Toronto, could show itself to be less effective in other venues. Reason 2. The Maple Leafs’ Power Play Isn’t Doomed Forget the panic about Toronto’s man advantage. Rielly will quarterback. Tavares runs the bumper. Matthews and Nylander control the half-walls. There’s a system in place that should work. Matthew Knies is already showing signs of being a net-front terror. That’s a power-play setup that doesn’t need Marner to function at a high level. If anything, removing the drama of Marner’s tendencies could let this unit flow even better. Reason 3. The Maple Leafs Might Just Have Put Together True Depth Here’s the kicker: the real problem in Toronto wasn’t Marner—it was the lack of a top-six right winger with enough skill and grit to complement Tavares and Matthews. Fix that, and the Maple Leafs can maximize their core’s potential. A large number of fans believe that Marner’s departure will free up cap space, remove a significant amount of drama, and finally force the team to address the positions that truly matter.
