The Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Split Up Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner After Eye-Opening Stats
It may be time for Toronto to split up their long-time duo of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, as some new stats have shown they play more cohesively apart.
If you're the Toronto Maple Leafs, a lot of your success is due to your top-line duo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. They bring a certain aura to the ice that only very few in the league can also offer, but it hasn't led to any playoff success.
This is a crucial time for the team. Given that Mitch Marner is in the final year of his deal and there is no indication or sign he is going to come back, if Toronto wants to maximize Marner as much as possible this year...perhaps they need to stop playing him with Matthews.
Speaking on the Real Kyper and Bourne podcast, co-host Sam McKee laid out a flurry of stats about the Maple Leafs with Auston Matthews, and when he's on the shelf:
Co-host Justin Bourne chimed in about how the Maple Leafs' winning ways without Matthews are similar to those with him in the lineup, however conceded that the powerplay is something you cannot mess with:
Nick Kypreos also added that Mitch Marner's game completely changes too depending on Matthews:
Bourne simply added a solution:
Kypreos agreed, saying there is something to look into when it comes to splitting the duo up.
So How Good Is Mitchell Marner Without Auston Matthews?
Marner has 70 career points with Matthews out of the lineup, so given that's 61 games over his career, those numbers are very, very good. It proves Marner isn't just Matthews' sidekick, and can facilitate any offense regardless if he has a 69-goal scorer or not alongside him.
Marner also feels different on the ice. It's almost like a wave of confidence hits Marner and he kicks it into second or third gear, controlling the offense and making opponents look silly:
Marner has 659 points in 592 games and has consistently been the catalyst for the Maple Leafs offense. His elite stickhandling and playmaking made him one of the league's best, and his 461 career assists show that he likes to be a team player.
Toronto's success with Mitch Marner without Auston Matthews shouldn't be overlooked. While it wouldn't be ideal to split up a duo that has played so long it feels almost incredulous to even suggest it; the results don't lie.
Toronto is rolling right now, and if they don't want to hit a brick wall, they need to separate their two stars for the betterment of the other 21 players on the roster.
| POLL | ||
Is it time for the Maple Leafs to split up Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner | ||
| No, you can't ruin what they have! | 162 | 36.9 % |
| Yes finally! Both deserve their own spot! | 277 | 63.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
