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Marner to Vegas is finally happening

+ Healthy Matthews' __ more goals?

Last year, Matthews' injury caused a dip to his shooting percentage to 12.6%, which is still a high-end percentage; the previous 69-goal season he was on a heater for 18.7%, which is his highest but technically not an aberration as he hit 18.5% (2020-21) and 18.2% (2017-18).

Injury plagued 2024-25 Matthews posted 261 shots on goal in 67 games played, which pro-rates to about 319 SOG for 82 games (also incidentally his 3-yr avg number of shots on goal; pro-rates to 353 over 82 games).

Assuming he keeps that exact pace and shoots at his career percentage 15.8% (which includes his injury seasons), that would yield 50G over 82 games. The average number of games he played in the past three full seasons is 74 games, so that'd knock the 50G down to 45 goals.

So a very average Matthews would be another 12 goals on top of last season's injury season (33G). That'll bring up the net scoring balance to 35G in concert with Maccelli and Roy's previous season's numbers. There's also evidence that Maccelli underperformed with the move to Utah (maybe he hates soda), and didn't play in the last quarter of the season, so there's probably 4-7 more goals hiding in there too.

I’d factor in some regression from Tavares’ 38 goals.
 
+ Healthy Matthews' __ more goals?

Last year, Matthews' injury caused a dip to his shooting percentage to 12.6%, which is still a high-end percentage; the previous 69-goal season he was on a heater for 18.7%, which is his highest but technically not an aberration as he hit 18.5% (2020-21) and 18.2% (2017-18).

Injury plagued 2024-25 Matthews posted 261 shots on goal in 67 games played, which pro-rates to about 319 SOG for 82 games (also incidentally his 3-yr avg number of shots on goal; pro-rates to 353 over 82 games).

Assuming he keeps that exact pace and shoots at his career percentage 15.8% (which includes his injury seasons), that would yield 50G over 82 games. The average number of games he played in the past three full seasons is 74 games, so that'd knock the 50G down to 45 goals.

So a very average Matthews would be another 12 goals on top of last season's injury season (33G). That'll bring up the net scoring balance to 35G in concert with Maccelli and Roy's previous season's numbers. There's also evidence that Maccelli underperformed with the move to Utah (maybe he hates soda), and didn't play in the last quarter of the season, so there's probably 4-7 more goals hiding in there too.
I think it's fine to project some positive stuff but this can go in both directions.

Losing Marner doesn't make it easier for Matthews to score goals. Matthews health should also be a question mark. The mystery behind his injuries leaves it open ended on whether he can actually stay healthy. He scored 40 goals 2 years ago. He scored 33 goals last year. Neither season was limited by Matthews getting a fluke broken hand. It's things like wrist and "maybe back". If healthy I see no reason why Matthews isn't right back to a 50+ goal scorer just from shooting percentage alone. But he has to be healthy for that to happen and we shouldn't be relying on that to be a sure thing.

Maccelli should be better than his last season....but its also easy to just blame it on the coach for not fitting his play style. He wouldn't be the first player who fell off after a couple of promising seasons.

McMann....where did you go? 17 goals in his first 47 games. 3 in the next 27 and 0 in 13 playoff games. Is there more to give there, or did the carriage just turn back into the pumpkin on an undrafted 29 year old. It wasn't just bad luck that led to McMann his scoring drought. His play style really slowed down. He wasn't taking good shots. Wasn't driving the net well.

Robertson. Is he back? If I'm Robertson, I would probably want out. At times it seemed like Berube was trusting him and then completely went away from him in the playoffs. I think there could be a chance for him to get some opportunity up the lineup and on the PP if he does stay.

Tavares is probably due for some age related regression.

Domi...could probably give a little more.

I want the team to be better on paper (and there really wasn't a way to do that with this miserable offseason). I don't want to just rely on best case scenarios for how we can make up lost production.
 
I think it's fine to project some positive stuff but this can go in both directions.

These were projections based on back of the napkin (err hockey-reference) averages from the last three seasons.

Matthews without Marner will be different, granted. Historically (relatively small sample), it hasn't been a problem for Matthews to score while Marner was out or on a different line.
 
Might depend on deployment.

The last 3 years he was 36G, 29G, 38G at 5v5, 18G, 9G, 12G on PP. He did shoot a blistering 19.0%, so if that goes back down to 13.6% on his average 252 shots, that's about 34G.

Two of his last 4 seasons have been below 11.5 SH% so I’m not totally comfortable assuming that. It’s possible of course.
 
Yup..Lou told Marner that the Leafs don't do the bonuses for rookies he was looking for and then turned around and gave them all to Matthews. It was 6M difference. The Marner camp got that 6M the next contract. Seems Lou started this disrespect.
Lou "started the disrespect" or the camp was ready from the start of Mitch's pro career, and likely before that, to use every ounce of leverage to get what they want, including using anything that could be construed as aggrievement as a real aggrievement?
 
Lou "started the disrespect" or the camp was ready from the start of Mitch's pro career, and likely before that, to use every ounce of leverage to get what they want, including using anything that could be construed as aggrievement as a real aggrievement?
Spin it anyway you'd like but Lou lied to them.
 
Spin it anyway you'd like but Lou lied to them.
Listen I don't make defending Lou a common practice but "lied" is pretty hyperbolic. He had like a decade long-policy of not handing out rookie bonuses. That was never a major issue with the Devils because they typically never drafted high but he did hold firm on the policy when it came to another 4th overall pick in Adam Larsson before he left. Policies however do adjust over time.

He quite literally caved on this policy already by giving Marner his full schedule A bonuses ($850k per year). That's $2.55mil more than what Larsson got right there. Marner wanted schedule B bonuses as well but Lou held firm and said no. He wasn't able to do that with Matthews, but I mean, it's just a reality that draft pick status changes things and Matthews was considered a very high end level 1st overall pick.

Also it didn't end up being a $6mil difference. That's the maximum it could have been over 3 years but he would have only hit those bonuses in the final year of his ELC when he was top-10 in the league in assists. The figure that their camp requested and got from Dubas on his second contract to make up for that was $1.6mil.
 
3000 years ago, who cares? Lou was gone eons ago, and Marner got paid?
Exactly. It's not something to poison the well over, and the Leafs should've traded him if it was. And what grates at me is I don't think this is Marner, it's his camp, who even complained about usage and deployment over the years. I cant remember the last time someone hung something as minor as that over a team 9yrs after it originally happened, especially after they acquiesced on everything after that.
 
This is ridiculous. He prioritized the two players whose contracts were up after the 2023-24 season over the one whose deal was up after the 2024-25 season. That’s the perfectly reasonable and correct thing to do.

I swear the things Marner’s camp, and now fans of his, will twist into something negative to happen to Marner is impressive.
It is not twisting anything.
It is a blunt set of established chronological facts.
In May-July 2023, Treliving declared to the media re-signing Matthews and Nylander was a priority. Look up the video.
In May 2024, Marner declared he wanted to re-sign in Toronto. Look up the video.
In June-July 2024, Treliving kicked around in the media maybe trading Marner - (Marner was not declared a priority to re-sign by Treliving. Look up the video.
That contributed significantly to the media firestorm and trade rumours that followed last summer and management did not do a heck of a lot to tamp that down. There is little video on that because they didn't really do it.

In July 2025, Marner stated that firestorm of media and trade rumours significantly contributed to Marner changing his mind and wanting a change of scenery. Look up the video.
Nobody is putting words into peoples mouths.

We can see or read with our own eyes and hear with our own ears those things that really happened. Something occurred to change Marner's mind. He said the rumours and uncertainty over his future had a bunch to do with that (ignoring there was a lot of nasty talk and blame for the playoffs that led to a report of police protecting his home). That is what the parties involved said or did. Things happen for a reason. That is the very plausible reason Marner gave for leaving and he is backed up by what we read, saw and heard in the media. In the wake of rumours for up to $14 mil/yr for his next contract, Marner could easily get the $12 mil/yr he got from Vegas from nearly anywhere in the NHL so it wasn't money. Those are the untwisted chronological facts.

Treliving threw gasolene on the fire by the way he handled it - which is very, very different to how he treated Matthews and Nylander. It caused a big problem for the player wanting to remain with the team - according to Marner himself. Why should Marner hang around to play for a GM who said he may trade him and then tried to trade him proving the GM doesn't really want him? Look at the video on the trade.

Just like it was Marner's right to exercise his NMC - it was Treliving's right to say or do whatever. BUT when a person does something, there are often consequences that they have to take responsibility for. Treliving, whether he likes it or not, will have to take some significant hunk of responsibility for losing Marner for next to nothing because Marner started out very receptive to re-signing in May 2024 and now, he's gone for very little return. There was no big overture for a hometown discount like they did with Tavares.

Leafs have an aged roster with some cap space, no good UFAs to spend it on and few assets to acquire quality players via trade. People said that was what was going to happen with the weak UFA crop and the cap rising so much - and so it was not a big surprise that it happened. That is also largely on management. That is not Marner's fault.

I don't think that is twisting anything. Management had a significant role in Marner's departure and they now have bigger challenges after Marner's departure.
 
It's not about 3000 years ago. Let's not pretend that it's one isolated incident that led to Marner leaving. Rightly or wrongly, it's been a constant stream of sh*t by the team. Which is fine. As mentioned above, they can treat every player however they'd like to treat them. But let's not pretend that this is all Marner's camp.
  • Babcock throws the rookie under the bus
  • Lou doesn't give out bonus
  • Marner blamed for every playoff loss since 1967
  • Marner's not contract not prioritized by the Leafs
  • Marner not defended in the media when the media is screaming to trade him
  • Leafs attempt to trade him
 
3000 years ago, who cares? Lou was gone eons ago, and Marner got paid?
It’s like Bender said, I think. In life, there are certain types of people always ready to be aggrieved, who marinate on and stew in slights, and push those self-pitying narratives to demand unreasonable things and avoid responsibility for their own failures. They’re generally major causes of toxicity in workplaces, families, non-profits, bowling leagues, and they’re best avoided. I don’t think Marner himself is that way, but professional athletes are corporate entities, the player, the agent, and the broader entourage. By all accounts, Marner’s was the worst one in the franchise.

Like, we heard, within the last year or so, about some kid walking his dog gave Marner a bit of crap for not signing his last contract the summer he took it to training camp. Where does that story come from? What is the purpose of it being leaked? Are the folks who are lamenting how horribly Marner was treated here really asking us to believe no one ever yelled anything rude at Nylander or Matthews or Reilly? Do they believe that themselves? How on earth could they, unless they were born yesterday?

His camp is toxic and was certainly a part of what’s been not right with this era. At least with them gone, we get rid of that, plus we can get more balance/depth in the lineup. That’s cold comfort, silver lining stuff though. The unrecovered talent loss sucks, but so did Shanahan and Dubas sucked as managers when it came to the stars.
 
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