They hadn't figured it out since the 16-17 season anyhow so it's not like we had solved anything. We already knew the square peg didn't fit and I'm looking forward to trying different things.
Also, why can't teams PK without a guy like Marner? There's plenty of PK specialists out there. I'd argue that maybe they were playing Mitch & Auston too much on the PK and it ended up gassing them.
Why can't teams score goals without a guy like Matthews? Because they can. But the vast majority of players scoring those goals won't score as many because they're not as good as Matthews - just like most forwards are not as good as Mitch Marner.
Whether it was PK, PP or ES, Babcock, Keefe and Berube all played Marner a lot -in the regular season and playoffs. Since his arrival 2016-17, Marner has more ice time than any other forward -in the regular season and playoffs. With their coaching jobs on the line, Marner was the forward Leafs coaches used the most - in part because beyond his top 10 scoring, he was so good defensively. Those coaches actions on his ice time speak louder than any words or any nonsense on DNA from a GM who has never won anything as a player or executive - he's barely won a playoff round.
"Let's get rid of the guy we collectively think should be on the ice more than anyone else!!" Doesn't make a lot of sense. Obviously, none of those coaches, including Berube, thought Marner was a big problem for this team or they wouldn't have given him all that ice time.
Can't very well blame Leafs coaching judgement since Team Canada coaches Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, Rick Tocchet and Misha Donskov as assistant
coaches for two time Cup winner Jon Cooper gave Marner the 3rd most ice time among CDN forwards behind McDavid & MacKinnon at the Four Nations Cup. Cooper raved about Marner who he also coached at the World Championships. 92 members of the media rated Marner the 9th best hockey player at the Four Nations Tournament. All Star. Selke finalist. His DNA is so bad, Team Canada wants Marner to represent Canada in the Olympics. I didn't notice the DNA of Maccelli, Roy & Joshua on Olympic rosters.
Recent Cup winners George McPhee & Kelly McCrimmon of Vegas who signed Marner aren't exactly stupid hockey people either. They got Marner for not much: “Nic (Roy) gave us great competitive advantage as a 4th-line center,” McCrimmon July 1, 2025. On a less center deep team like the Leafs, Roy will probably fill a 3rd line role. Better than getting nothing.
It was well known in early 2025 that the cap was rising and it was very likely to wipe out much of the UFA market that might have filled some of Marner's cap void. I think Leafs management's decision to overlook that might go down as one of the dumber things Leafs GMs have done over the last 60 years. A hunk of the Rubik's cube problem they currently face was self inflicted. If Marner was perceived as the real problem with why this team fell short or its DNA, his coaches would have cut his ice time years ago and he would not continue to be one of the highest paid and well regarded forwards in this league.
Marner, Pacioretty & Holmgren have been replaced (so far) by Maccelli, Joshua & Roy who collectively played only 3 games less but collectively scored 71 fewer points which is part of the reason why odds makers have dropped the Leafs Cup chances down. They're more likely to not be as good.
Roy as a PKer was 5th last year in SH TOI and almost non existent as a PKer in the playoffs. He's been 4th in prior seasons.
Maccelli was non existent as a PKer. Joshua was way down the list as a PKer last season. He was 5th in prior seasons. When he played, Holmberg may have PKed more than all three of them and then there is Marner to make up for. And the plot thickens to dump the other two top PKers: Kampf & Jarnkrok.
A bunch of the Selke votes and ice time Marner's received have been in part due to his role as the Leafs top forward PKer.
" I'd argue that maybe they were playing Mitch & Auston too much on the PK and it ended up gassing them. "
If that is true, why didn't GM DNA bring in guys who had proven themselves to have proven DNA on the PK rather than some of the three he did?
I suspect GM DNA was like Colorado: who wanted more dollars to address the bottom six. Colorado dumped Rantanen. Marner was an easy money target with his contractual situation. From that, and failing to fill that void (which many predicted), this franchise of talent is past its best-before-date. Two years from now, from the current roster, ignoring Cowan, Danford or fringe players, they will only have three forwards under 30 years old. and one 29 year old top 6 dman under 30 and one 29 year old goalie under 30. They're down to a run or two before it gradually self destructs from young talent starvation and older player injuries. DNA change to old DNA is not going to play well for long and UFAs like Matthews won't hang around. GM DNA doesn't have a lot of time to get to the promised land.
