Mitch Marner on feelings following potential final game as a Maple Leaf: ‘Sadness, depression’

The Toronto Maple Leafs had another chance to win a winner-take-all game on Sunday night. In fact, it was their seventh opportunity in the past decade to do so. And once again, they failed to deliver a strong effort when it mattered most.

The Maple Leafs’ Core Four has been at the forefront of the heat the team takes when they lose these important playoff games, and rightfully so. Outside of a goal from William Nylander in Game 7 vs. the Boston Bruins last season and John Tavares against the Tampa Bay Lightning three years ago, the Leafs’ star players have routinely gone silent in these games.

“Sadness, obviously. Depression. All of that.” Marner said when asked to describe the feeling after the loss.

The elephant in the room surrounding Marner is the expiration of his current contract. Auston Matthews is locked in for another three years and William Nylander is here for another seven, but both Marner and Tavares are in need of new deals, and with the two players in vastly different situations, it’s easy to see why this may have been Marner’s last game as a Leaf.

That said, he declined to talk about anything regarding his contract situation following the series loss.

“I don’t have any thoughts right now,” Marner said when asked if he had anything to say about where he stood with his contract situation. “Like I said, I’m pretty devastated with what just happened. Ive always enjoyed this team and this city, like I’ve always said.”

If this is truly the end for Mitch Marner in Toronto, it’s extremely disappointing that things played out the way he did. The Leafs were headed into an era with a brand new mindset, stocked with draft picks and with a commitment to doing things the right way. Marner was the Toronto boy who should have been the next local legend seeing his banner raised to the rafters, not exiting his potential final game as a Leaf to a chorus of boos as the team failed to win only their third playoff series in nine years.

“Like I said, I haven’t thought about anything. Just thought about coming here every day, trying to put my best foot forward and help this team win hockey games, try to get that ultimate goal.”

The Leafs are en route to an uncomfortable summer that will potentially feature some seismic changes involving their core group. There were lots of bad bounces and unfortunate beats that led to the playoff losses of the past, but when a sample size like 0-7 in winner-take-all games and two series wins in nine years comes to fruition, it becomes too big to use as justification for keeping the team stitched together. Needless to say, you’ll want to be near your phone on July 1.