Hall of Famer has his say on Mitch Marner criticism post Maple Leafs playoff disappointment 

By ARJUN B

Modified May 16, 2024 17:40 GMT

Hall of Fame center Adam Oates came to the defense of Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who has lately come under much scrutiny. Oates argued that Marner's been unjustly blamed for Toronto's latest playoff failure.

Speaking on "The Cam & Strick Podcast," Oates discussed the backlash against Marner, who has shouldered much of the blame for the Leafs' another early postseason exit. Oates believes Marner has unfairly become "the odd man out" this offseason despite Toronto's issues extending far beyond one player.

Referencing an incident where William Nylander yelled at Marner on the bench in Game 4 against Boston, Oates said:

"Nylander was mad at [Auston] Matthews for a bad turnover at the blue line. That's what he's mad at and he's also mad and he threw his gloves. Why? Because he knows tomorrow in the paper, they're gonna blame [Marner]."

Oates argued Marner faces more pressure than his teammates, saying:

"You don't play against everybody's best. You play against everybody's second-best, let's get that straight."

He added that Marner is impacted by being "in that market" where scrutiny is intense. Specifically on Toronto's struggling power play, which went just 1-for-20 against Boston, Oates absolved Marner of blame.

"That's two units, 10 guys, and one coach, right? And the head coach. It's never one guy and I feel bad for [Marner] because he's in that market," Oates said.

Oates believes if the power play was merely average, the discussion around Marner would be far different.

"If they were 5-for-20, they'd still be playing right now. And he'd have three more points, four more points, they wouldn't be complaining right now, would they?"

Adam Oates discusses Mitch Marner's role in David Pastrnak's OT winner that eliminated Leafs

Adam Oates also discussed the Boston Bruins' series-clinching overtime winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs that eliminated them from the playoffs. The goal was scored by Bruins winger David Pastrnak. It led to criticism of Leafs forward Mitch Marner's defensive coverage on the play.

However, Oates defended Marner's role, saying:

"If anybody knows anything about hockey, they were in a neutral zone regroup. So F1 changed and he jumped over for F1, Pastrnak's not his responsibility at all."

Oates was not alone in absolving Marner of responsibility for the decisive goal. Former Maple Leafs coaches Paul Maurice and Andrew Brewer also defended Marner's neutral zone coverage, with Maurice saying that "Marner took an awful lot of heat" undeservedly.

With Auston Matthews and William Nylander recently signing contract extensions and captain John Tavares holding a no-trade clause, Mitch Marner and his $10.9 million cap hit through 2023-24 have become the subject of trade speculation.