Nathan MacKinnon on summer training with Mitch Marner: ‘He looks awesome’

Mitch Marner, Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews

Credit: Feb 24, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) controls the puck ahead of Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) as right wing Mitchell Marner (16) looks on in the first period at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Are we about to witness Mitch Marner accomplish something similar to what William Nylander did in his contract year?

Marner, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ star right winger, was dogged by trade rumors early this summer. While his contract has a full no-movement clause, there was reason to believe the Leafs were willing to explore the market for him and that Marner might have been willing to listen on pitches as well. Team president Brendan Shanahan had indicated “everything is on the table” after the Leafs bombed out in Round 1 of the playoffs for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. Auston Matthews and William Nylander had just signed extensions, so Marner – who has no goals and five points in 16 games in Game 5, 6 and 7 scenarios over the past five seasons – was the logical candidate to go if the team wanted a shakeup.

But whether the Leafs ever came remotely close to moving Marner or not, it appears he’s poised to open this coming season in a blue and white jersey and play out the final season of his deal without a contract for 2024-25. What kind of performance will Marner, a two-time first-team all-star who ranks seventh in the league in scoring over the past five seasons, deliver in a prove-it scenario?

Time will tell, but if you ask the reigning Hart Trophy winner, the forecast is blindingly sunny.

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon, who was on hand Tuesday at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas, has been training with his good friend Sidney Crosby this summer in Vail, Colorado alongside other elite NHL players, and the two have brought Marner into the fold this time as well. MacKinnon first struck up a friendship with Marner when they played together for Canada at the 2017 World Championship, and they instantly found chemistry on and off the ice. Marner and Crosby are friends, too, MacKinnon explained. They texted Marner to join them at the Vail camp, he obliged, and the two Nova Scotia legends have been floored by Marner’s effort.

“Yeah, he looks awesome,” MacKinnon said. “He’s always so impressive out there. Even just playing with him [at the 2017 Worlds], he just came off his rookie year. Unreal, just so good, so talented.”

As MacKinnon explained Tuesday, during any time in his career in which the Leafs have been alive in the playoffs while the Avalanche are out or idle, he’s rooted for them because of the pressure they face in the hockey-mad Toronto market, and he’s sympathetic to Marner for the heat he has taken.

“It’s a hard league to win in and obviously I think Marner gets a lot of flak in Toronto, but he’s honestly one of the best players in the league,” MacKinnon said. “I play with some of the best players in the league, and then I skate with Marnes and he’s right up there with anyone. Especially at that Vail camp, there’s a lot of good players, and he’s stuck out as one of the best for sure.”

So does that mean Marner, who has yet to break 100 points but has scored at a 93-point pace or better in six straight years, will silence his doubters and fill his wallet with a career year at 27? For now, we’ll have to take MacKinnon’s word for it. But Marner couldn’t ask for a better champion given MacKinnon’s famous intensity and high standards.

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Nathan MacKinnon on summer training with Mitch Marner: ‘He looks awesome’

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