Mitch Marner was in attendance for Wednesday’s unveiling of Auston Matthews as the next Toronto Maple Leafs captain purely to support his dear friends.
Marner sat besides Morgan Rielly during the formal presentation as John Tavares handed over the captaincy to Matthews at a press conference at Real Sports. After the presentation ended, Marner very briefly spoke to reporters but declined to answer questions about his ongoing contract negotiations.
“I’m not going to get into that too much today. I love being here. I’ve said that from Day One,” Marner said. “I’m very fortunate and lucky to be a Maple Leaf. Today’s about these two amazing people beside me and that’s what I’m going to speak on.”
It was a true family affair and Marner was largely left alone, speaking to Matthews and Tavares’ families at length after the ceremony ended.
Marner is widely considered to be the best trade target available, although he’s shown no inclination to waive his no-movement clause. The 27-year-old recorded 26 goals and 85 points in 69 games during the 2023-24 season, before adding a goal and three points in seven postseason games as the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Boston Bruins.
There have been fair criticisms of Marner, with the expectation that he’d elevate his offensive profile during the playoffs, especially during a series where Auston Matthews and William Nylander were dealing with injuries and migraines. Marner was the primary defender on David Pastrnak during the first-round series but lost track of the Bruins’ superstar in space during the season-ending goal.
Marner is still very much part of the Maple Leafs’ core for the 2024-25 season and at the time of this filing and he was in a great mood, in support of Matthews and Tavares. Matthews and Marner took the league by storm during the 2016-17 season as rookies, they have developed a genuine friendship over the past decade so there’s little surprise he’d be there for a huge moment for the franchise and for his dear pals.
