There is no better time to run into your ex than when you are living your best life.
Although the Maple Leafs lost 6-1 in Utah on Tuesday, they only have one regulation loss in their past 11 games (8-1-2) as they head to Las Vegas, where Mitch Marner awaits Thursday.
Marner’s transition to the glitz and glam of the Strip has not been without its challenges, but his 47 points in 45 games are still second-most on the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, who have won five in a row.
At his current pace of 1.04 points per game, Marner will finish well below the career-high 102 points he posted in his final season in Toronto. But he remains one of the NHL’s most dynamic playmakers and top defensive forwards. Many of his underlying numbers have held steady from last season despite the drop-off in production.
“It’s slowly getting there,” Marner told The Athletic about adjusting to his new surroundings. “I think there’s been a couple of times where it hasn’t been the prettiest looking thing. There’s also been times where it looks unreal.”
Perhaps predictably, the process of finding the right spot for Marner in the Golden Knights’ lineup has been arduous.
Marner started the season at right wing on Jack Eichel’s line but has bounced around the lineup throughout the year, playing all three forward positions. Marner has shared the ice for at least 60 minutes with seven different forwards at even strength, led by Pavel Dorofeyev at 267:32. (By comparison, Marner spent 862:50 with Auston Matthews and 755:24 with Matthew Knies last season.)
Injuries have played a part in the constant shuffling of Marner’s linemates; Eichel recently missed seven games, and William Karlsson has been out since early November. Mark Stone also missed 16 games earlier this season.
Most recently, Marner has settled on the second line at centre between Dorofeyev and Reilly Smith. Over the past three games, they have generated 56.1 per cent of the expected goals at even strength in 33:49 of ice time.
Regardless of where Marner has played in the lineup, the Golden Knights are winning his minutes. They have outscored opponents 35-23 and generated 60.3 per cent of the expected goals at five-on-five.
On special teams, Marner runs the point on one of the league’s most dangerous power-play units. He, Dorofeyev, Eichel, Stone and Tomas Hertl have generated 5.0 expected goals per 20 minutes. That ranks fifth out of nearly 140 units that have received 10 minutes of ice time this season.
Faceoffs are a work in progress for Marner, who has taken 127 draws this season and won only 38.6 per cent of them. Over his final seven seasons with the Maple Leafs, Marner took 114 total faceoffs.
“I think a bit of my game is suited to being a centreman: getting low, supporting, helping out our defence,” Marner told the Toronto Star. “But it’s a new adjustment in taking faceoffs, trying to get good at that, the patience for that, trying to win more draws.”
The other aspects of playing centre, however, have not hindered Marner. Offensively, he has completed 55.8 per cent of his slot passes, which is the ninth-highest rate among the roughly 130 forwards who have made at least 100 attempts.
When Marner has not had the puck, he routinely disrupts opponents. His 82 blocked passes in the offensive zone are the fifth most in the league at the forward position.
“I always thought he was a driver of offence for (the Maple Leafs), a second-effort player, a guy (opponents) had to account for,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, who faced Marner often with the Bruins, told reporters. “I think I have a better appreciation for his ability to read plays away from the puck now. I used to notice him more with the puck, but he kills a lot of plays (and) puts out a lot of fires just with his anticipation, good stick and feet. … We’ve moved him into the middle, and you can see it even more now.”
Marner’s high-profile divorce from the Maple Leafs soured his relationship with his hometown fans, who had complicated feelings about him long before he left Toronto. But life in Las Vegas has been good for Marner.
“I’m grateful forever to have worn (a Maple Leafs) jersey, but I’m happy for this new chapter,” Marner told the Star. “It’s a new chapter in my life. I’m focused on here.”
