Radio Host Blasts NHL for Mishandling of Ex-Leafs Winger Mitch Marner's Return to Toronto
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski Imagn Images
TSN 1050 OverDrive host Bryan Hayes has ripped the NHL a new one for the poor scheduling of ex-Leafs winger Mitch Marner's return to Toronto next season.
Given how messy Mitch Marner's separation from the Maple Leafs turned out, there was speculation the NHL would look to capitalize on the animosity and schedule the Vegas Golden Knights to visit Toronto early in the season.
Unfortunately, when the schedule was released, it was confirmed that Marner will make his highly anticipated return to Toronto on January 23rd next season rather than at the start of the year.
While the NHL has the ability to change the schedule around, it was an unlikely scenario given that it was in the process of being finalized at the time that Marner was traded to the Golden Knights.
However, that didn't stop TSN 1050 OverDrive host Bryan Hayes from calling out the league and their poor planning leading up to Marner's return as the Golden Knights are set to play in Boston the night before he makes his return, which means it's highly unlikely that Marner will even speak to the media in Toronto at all.
"The build up to the game is going to be about Marner. I think it will be the most anticipated Maple Leaf homecoming likely in my lifetime. I said that the NHL will screw this up and they did. They screwed it up because Vegas is in Boston the night before, which means they'll fly in late, not have a morning skate, he'll play, I'm not even convinced he's going to talk to the media afterwards, and then he's going to be out.
I get why Vegas wants to protect Marner. I get why Marner is like 'this is amazing for me, get me in, get me out.' I get why, to an extent, the league would be sympathetic to that, but as I said yesterday, you're in the entertainment business. This is a massive profile. This is a local kid, leaving town, coming back to the biggest hockey market on earth. They're going to fly him in, like the dark knight, fly him out."
I get why Vegas wants to protect Marner. I get why Marner is like 'this is amazing for me, get me in, get me out.' I get why, to an extent, the league would be sympathetic to that, but as I said yesterday, you're in the entertainment business. This is a massive profile. This is a local kid, leaving town, coming back to the biggest hockey market on earth. They're going to fly him in, like the dark knight, fly him out."
As Hayes mentioned, Vegas and Marner likely prefer how the schedule worked out to take away some of the media pressure ahead of his return, but without having Marner speak to the media to downplay or speak on his return, the animosity will only continue to rise ahead of the puck dropping on January 23rd.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 17 | 2090 ANSWERS Radio Host Blasts NHL for Mishandling of Ex-Leafs Winger Mitch Marner's Return to Toronto Should the NHL have made Mitch Marner's return to Toronto earlier in the season? | ||
| Definitely, they missed the mark again | 767 | 36.7 % |
| No, they shouldn't cater to Leafs fans | 1323 | 63.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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