The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without the services of Mitch Marner since he was injured on March 7th against the Boston Bruins. Yesterday, the Leafs placed the 26-year-old on LTIR retroactively to March 7th to allow them more roster flexibility. Marner has been skating and is now day-to-day, according to Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, so we should see him return sometime next week.
At the time of his injury, Marner was 24 points away from finally joining the 100-point club and it looked like it was a sure thing. Unfortunately, he will have to wait another season to reach that mark as the Leafs have just 9 games left - one of which Marner is still unlikely to play in tomorrow night against Florida.
Marner, however, doesn't appear to be concerned about joining the 100-point club. In speaking with reporters this week, Marner was asked about missing out on the milestone for the third straight season, to which he responded by saying that he had his sights set on the playoffs above all else from the start of the season, suggesting that individual stats are irrelevant at this point.
Marner's comments, along with Auston Matthews' remarks about scoring 60 goals show a new level of maturity from the group that is often criticized for worrying about their own point totals before the team's collective success. While Marner says he has put the playoffs ahead of everything else, he will have to walk the walk, so to speak, come April 20th when the 2024 Stanely Cup Playoffs begin.
