Pros & Cons to Utah Mammoth Pursuing Mitch Marner in Free Agency

Mitch Marner is one of the most polarizing players in the NHL, and not for good reason. 28-year-old Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs went through another tragic playoff loss after taking a 2-0 series lead against the Florida Panthers before losing in yet another Game 7 to drop out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With the Maple Leafs losing the series in ugly fashion and Toronto fans booing Marner and the team off the ice in Game 7, many are speculating that Marner has played his last game in Toronto. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

If Marner reaches the open market, several teams will likely be looking to bring in a guy with the eighth-most points in the NHL of the last three regular seasons. The Utah Mammoth are one of the clubs that would love to have a piece like Marner. Before the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season, Bill Armstrong said, “There is going to be a point where we have to add a free agent. Our young kids have to grow organically and make that next step. When they do and our team makes that next step, then it will be the time to add through free agency.”

With the Utah Hockey Club finally making that step towards contention, being in the playoff race for the first time since their rebuild commenced in Arizona, it is time for the Mammoth to consider adding the ‘winning’ pieces, starting with the Marner, who will likely be the highest-value player to hit free agency this summer.

Marner has been exceptional for the Maple Leafs throughout his career, but is a player with limitations. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of signing him and evaluate whether a player like this could help the Mammoth take the next step.

Pros to Mammoth Signing Marner

Marner is coming off a career-high 102 points after playing all 82 games in his contract season for the Maple Leafs. This marked his seventh straight season playing above a 90 point-per-82 game pace and his seventh straight season. In addition to Marner’s elite offensive production in the regular season, he is one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL, having garnered Frank J. Selke Trophy votes, an award for the best defensive forward in six straight seasons, including finishing as a finalist for this award in 2022-23.

In his career-high season for the Maple Leafs, Marner finished fifth in the NHL in total points, fourth in total assists and fourth in primary assists. This was good enough to finish among the top one percent of players in the league for points and assists, and even though Marner is known as a pure playmaker, he finished among the top 20% of players in goals scored.

The defensive side of Marner’s game is not talked about enough. He played the toughest matchups night in and night out for the Maple Leafs and ranked among the top 30% of players in defensive rating while also ranking in the top three percent of players for the difficulty of competition faced.

Cons to the Mammoth Signing Marner

While Marner produces at an elite offensive level, he has not always been the driving force behind it. He has significantly benefited from playing alongside Auston Matthews, widely regarded as one of the best goal scorers of this generation. With the combination of these two on the ice over the last three seasons at five-on-five, the Maple Leafs have controlled 54.36% of the shot attempts, 54.6% of the shots on net, and a 56% expected goal share. This all while averaging 35.2 scoring chances, 15.01 high-danger chances and 3.16 expected goals per 60 minutes.

Without Matthews on the ice with Marner is where things get concerning. On the rare occasions these two were separated, Marner was losing his minutes at five-on-five, having a 48.6 shot attempt percentage, 48.3 shots on goal percentage and a 48.63 expected goal percentage while on the ice for the Maple Leafs. We also saw a significant drop in chances created with Marner only averaging 29.2 scoring chances, 11.63 high-danger chances and 2.43 expected goals per 60 minutes while on the ice without Matthews.