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Auston Matthews delivers 3-word response to Mitch Marner's 600th NHL game milestone
Mitch Marner played his 600th NHL regular season game for the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. Marner registered two assists in the 4-1 win against Connor Bedard's Chicago Blackhawks,
After being selected No. 4 in the 2015 NHL Draft, the 27-year-old forward has 672 points from 203 goals and 469 assists in 600 regular season games.
Leafs captain Auston Matthews had a quirky, three-word response for Marner's 600th NHL game milestone in the postgame interview:
"Almost full pension."
Mitch Marner has only missed 27 games in nine NHL seasons owing to injuries. Assuming he steers clear from major injuries in the future, the Ontario native may end up shattering Auston Matthews' prediction of at least 1200 NHL regular season games.
"You can't pay him more than Matthews, McDavid, Draisaitl or MacKinnon": Toronto columnist speculates Mitch Marner's Leafs future
In Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons' opinion, Marner is getting paid exactly what he deserves. His $10.9M AAV currently makes him the 12th highest-paid player in the NHL, and as per Simmons, that fits perfectly with his caliber.
In his Dec. 1 column for the Toronto Sun, Simmons wrote his version of Leafs GM Brad Treliving's probable message to Mitch Marner and his camp.
"If I’m Brad Treliving, the Leafs general manager, I make it clear to Marner’s people: You will be paid well long-term to stay here, but I can’t pay you more than Matthews, McDavid, Draisaitl or MacKinnon."
Simmons additionally labeled Marner just a great player instead of an all-time great like the likes of Matthews, McDavid and others.
"There’s a difference between a great player and an all-time great. And there should always be a difference there in both viewpoint and paycheque."
Marner's future as a Toronto Maple Leaf is up in the air, with him being in the final year of a six-year, $65,418,000 deal signed in 2019. A part of Leafs nation and some NHL experts speculate his exit from Toronto once his contract expires, while others urge the franchise to re-sign the hometown kid.
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