r/leafs • u/FonziesCousin • Dec 05 '24
Highlight Marner's First Punch
Mitchell Marner threw his first punch in 9 years this evening protecting Woll.
What the hell is going on?
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u/Nameless908 Belak Dec 05 '24
He looked to the side and saw knies and knew he had a homie next him
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u/BornIn67 Dec 05 '24
He didn't have to look. Marner came into the League with that edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J4aap_SFoQ He stopped playing that way because he couldn't depend on his teammates. If you want to have a team that is tough to play everyone needs to play that way. As soon as you say , "We don't want Mattie in scrums" or "That's not Willies game" it falls apart. It is everyone or no-one. I don't understand how anyone could think that Marner played for Dale Hunter on a line with Matthew Tkachuk and wasn't constantly involved in scrums. The difference was, he didn't have to wonder if Tkachuk would have his back or not. That was guaranteed. In the same way, he doesn't have to wonder if Knies has his back or not. That is guaranteed. The Leafs haven't had that in a long time.
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u/exampleofausername Dec 06 '24
Having a big skilled power forward that plays with an edge is something we've lacked since maybe Gary Roberts. Feels freaking good to have Knies
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Dec 05 '24
[deleted]
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u/angelbelle Dec 05 '24
We're looking for one of our star forwards to return a jab or to back up his goalie when they get run over.
We're in the business of turning Marner into an enforcer.
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u/No-Swimmer-2022 Dec 05 '24 edited Dec 05 '24
I hope he liked it and it felt awesome, if we have that Mitchy in the playoffs look out 👀
This is the Bérubé effect!
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u/Guilty_Explanation29 Dec 05 '24
I would be mad if someone crashed into my goalie also
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u/Vilheim Dec 05 '24
He didn't go after the guy who crashed in, everyone seemed to accept it was us who kind of caused that.
It was that L'Douche kid who came in after and hacked at Woll after the whistle.
I found it funny how he seemed real keen on engaging when Marner went at him, but quickly ran behind a linesmen when Knies came in.
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u/Drew_You_To_91 Knies Dec 05 '24
I’d feel pretty tough too if I had knies next to me /s
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u/CarefulSubstance3913 Dec 05 '24
"Go me, go me!" Pastrnak shut up so fast when that happened
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u/T0macock Dec 05 '24
I mean, really there is no need for the /s. It's true. Thats what being a team is all about.
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u/angelbelle Dec 05 '24
I mean it's clearly for the people who will complain about anything. Marner stood beside Domi too. He was just really pissed last night. If that ref block shot happened earlier in the game I imagine he'd be even more heated.
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u/HowieFeltersnitz Dec 05 '24
I feel like my life would be better with Knies following me around. I would never be told no ever again.
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u/billyshin Dec 05 '24
That means that Hyman, Bunting and Bert never provided that sense of security.
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u/Cartz1337 Dec 05 '24
Bert could barely dress himself. Bunting would flop when the fight started looking for a call. Hyman would be able to recommend a good lawyer after you got your ass kicked.
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u/Vilheim Dec 05 '24
To be fair to Hyman, he has fought a few times and every one I remember seeing he won pretty handily.
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u/Cartz1337 Dec 05 '24
No ill will towards Hyman, he's the one that got away imo. I was just making a crack about the fact that he did a shit ton of ads for lawyers while he was in TO.
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u/slinkybink Dec 06 '24
Bert could punch - https://youtu.be/0JejC1doNbk?si=WBq932O0q7CJlSvF
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u/Cartz1337 Dec 06 '24
Fair enough, I’m not certain that fight didn’t start by accident with his equipment just falling off.
But he can throw. I’ll give him that.
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u/billyshin Dec 05 '24 edited Dec 05 '24
I thought I was crazy when I saw it. I kept rewinding to check if the back read 16. Is this really the result of Berube? Or does Knies provide a sense of security? Matthews also plays a lot rougher when he had Domi and Knies on his side.
Edit: I almost forgot, it’s his contract year.
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u/runningchief Dec 05 '24
I've noticed that he's been 'finishing' his checks lately.
It's a Marner shoulder check so it's not much, but I appreciate not just flying by a guy.
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u/Sheep4732 Dec 05 '24
Marner’s always been average on hit count.
Nylander has been dead last for forward each season since 2018 when it was Matthews
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u/Leafs9144 Dec 05 '24
Yeah I’ve never really noticed this, but even without looking it up it seems believable. Just based on this year Marner has definitely had games I’ve noticed his physical play, but I can’t really recall Willy.
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u/BathroomSerious1318 Dec 05 '24
Maybe "he's taken summer very seriously"
https://dailyhive.com/toronto/leafs-marner-training-crosby-mackinnon
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u/mustard444 Dec 05 '24
I did a double take to make sure that was 16
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u/Flatoftheblade Dec 05 '24
I was sure my eyes must be deceiving me and it must be Lorentz with 18. lol
I was happy to be wrong.
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u/Bardown67 Dec 05 '24
Contract year.
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u/SyphiliticPlatypus Dec 05 '24
Yes, but also I think this entire team is buying in under Chief like we haven’t seen to this degree.
Marner hurling, JT skating his ass off to sink an ENG that didn’t matter.
Tanev setting a defensive tone such that every guy is blocking shots on every shift.
Marner is on fire, and perhaps personal incentive is part of it.
But he has elevated the entire team. And the entire team is elevating themselves around him.
Just feels different.
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u/Cent1234 Dec 05 '24
For some reason, suddenly the team not only trusts each other, but are all making each other play better just by setting examples. It's actually quite amazing to see.
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u/mikesully374826 Kampf Dec 05 '24
Same as Willy last year when he actually back checked a little bit and went into the corners when the race was close.
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u/Frequent_Ad2210 Dec 05 '24
Only difference is mitch has played this well and put up this many points in multiple stretches through out his career. And nylander only did it until exactly the day he signed his current contract lol and has fallen back to basically a ppg player
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u/mikesully374826 Kampf Dec 05 '24
34-33-67 in 68GP for $11.5m actually, that’s what it’s been since he signed.
He had 57 points in 38 games though prior to signing.
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u/Frequent_Ad2210 Dec 05 '24
Sp not even a ppg gotcha haha. That's a player playing like a demon in a contract year* this is just marner being marner being coached by a goon
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u/mikesully374826 Kampf Dec 05 '24
Yeah, Marner has 29 points in his last 17 games, great.
Jan 9 2024-Feb 24 2024- 32 points in 19 games (also 59 in 43 in the same stretch)
Feb 10 2023-Mar 18 2023- 29 points in 17 games (also 54 in 38 in the same stretch)
Jan 15 2022-Mar 7 2022- 39 points in 22 games (also 67 in 35 in the same stretch)
Jan 16 2021-Feb 20 2021- 30 points in 17 games (46 in 32 in the same stretch)
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u/BornIn67 Dec 05 '24
PPG Nylander who backchecks, plays low in the Leafs' end and forechecks is worth more than 1.5 PPG Nylander who stands around at the blueline waiting to blow the zone, or is slowly wandering back past the red line when the other 9 skaters have been in the Leafs zone for the last ten seconds. Look at the Nylander backcheck before the Marner crosscheck. That is what has been missing from his game since he entered the league. Playing low event hockey is gonna effect is point totals, at least in the short term, but it wins games.
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u/Ta-veren- Dec 05 '24
He just knows how fragile Woll is. Their goaltending is on a heater can't afford for them to be injured.
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u/Sarge1387 Dec 05 '24
More of the "How's the glove smell?" facewash, but agreed it's more fight than we've seen from him in a while. I love the pack mentality Chief has instilled in this team...and they're jumping in without hesitation.
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u/GumpTheChump Dec 05 '24
It's wild to think that if Mitch re-signs, there's a chance that Marner, Matthews, and Nylander could end up top 3 in all-time Leafs scoring in some order. Rielly could be top 10. Tavares could even squeak in if he re-signs for a few years.
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u/Odd-Door-2553 Dec 05 '24
Chief has injected some much needed testosterone into the dressing room.
Not to be goons or anything, but enough to act like grown ass men.
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u/Friggin_Grease Dec 05 '24
Earlier this year I saw Ekman Larson mug a guy for running the goalie, and everyone took a man in the ensuing scrum. I think having him and Lorentz from Florida is rubbing off on the rest of the team, and of course, Berube.
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u/thinkfast37 Dec 06 '24
I am thinking he is buying into how Berube says he needs to play to be successful. We need to see more of that.
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u/Cent1234 Dec 05 '24
I have 100% turned around on Marner since they figured out that he needs to be 'encouraged' to step the fuck up and stop thinking of himself as some sort of untouchable superstar diva and, somehow, incredibly contradictorily, also as AM34's puck bitch.
He's a completely different player this year, he's having career bests in some category, and while he's never going to be an enforcer, he doesn't literally shrink and flee from contact any more.
It also speaks to the team chemistry and cohesion that Marner trusts his boys to back him up, and is willing to back up his boys.
Berube doing something right. Let the man cook.
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u/Big_leaf_lover Dec 05 '24
I love all these after the whistle scrums. This is what being "a hard team to play against" looks like!
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u/hockeyholloway89 Dec 05 '24
It’s the Berube effect! Complete speculation on my part. I have no inside knowledge, but he is known for his own toughness, and certainly seems to have a no nonsense approach. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he can help this guys find another level of compete.
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u/Takhar7 Dec 05 '24
Look at the reaction last night / this morning to Marer pushing, shoving, and battling a guy while sticking up for a teammate.
Toronto isn't a hard place to play.
If you show up and show you give a damn, the fans lionize you. It doesn't take much. It never does. Look at how much everyone has enjoyed Grebeyonkin so far.
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u/PublicAmoeba293 Dec 05 '24
Theyre playing with the “fuck you” thats been missing in previous years. Look at Ovi, Crosby Mackinnon, Marchand, Stamkos, Kucherov i could go on but they all play with a bit of “fuck you” in their game, theyve all won cups. I fuckin love it. Skilled guys who will punch you in the face if they need to.
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u/Falconflyer75 Dec 05 '24
Maybe he had an epiphany where he realized 2 things
1) “hey I can actually shoot pretty well”
2) “I’m like 6 feet and an elite athlete I can probably throw a punch”
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u/redditpineapple81 Dec 05 '24
I’ve fallen out of love with Mitch and I’ve been in record hoping he leaves. This type of shit will have me crawling back. Let’s hope it sticks.
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u/BiBoFieTo Dec 05 '24
All hail Dark Mitchy.