Chanting before first meeting
Marner cheered for linemate the night Matthews went No. 1,
It started five years ago with Mitch Marner chanting Auston Matthews’ name, along with hundreds of other people, during a concert at Ontario Place. And it has developed to the point you can’t say Matthews’ name anymore without Marner’s.
The two form one of the most lethal duos in the NHL. Matthews leads the league with 40 goals. Marner, third in the league in points before Friday’s games, has assisted on 25 of them. Sheldon Keefe put them together on the same line when he took over as the Maple Leafs coach in November 2019 and they haven’t stopped producing since.
All of that chemistry had a beginning, though.
“First time I met him was in an elevator at the (2016) world juniors (in Helsinki),” Marner said. “I just said hi to him.
“I remember at that point, Toronto was one or two in possibly
getting the (first overall) pick. And I remember draft night for him, I was at a concert at Budweiser Stage and then, when we picked him, everyone started an Auston Matthews chant, and the kid I was, and amped still, I was in the middle of it and chanting as well … And laughing about it now. I’ve told (Matthews) that story a couple of times.
“I guess development camp
(later in 2016) was the first time I got to sit down and actually talk with him. I remember it was a lot of fun meeting him and Adam Brooks and Tye Felhaber, we had a great time all four of us, we really connected well, we played a lot of games, I brought my PlayStation, so we were playing NBA and really anything on PlayStation … We’d always go back to our rooms and hang out. That was the first
time we all got together and kind of bonded from there.”
Matthews, the first pick in 2016, and Marner, selected fourth overall a year earlier, were the future stars of the group, and Marner’s star is shining brighter than at any time in his five seasons with the Leafs. He has always been an offensive threat — he has 357 points, including 255 assists, in 353 career games with the Leafs — but he has gone somewhat under the radar as a strong two-way player.
“I think, growing up, honestly I was more of a goal scorer and, kind of throughout time, I think it just started coming to my mind that I wanted to start making plays … always looking for that pass,” Marner said.
“And in the summertime, when I work with Rob Des- veaux, my skill (coach), we work on seeing the whole ice, we make sure I use my creative mind and am making plays I can make. I’ve been working with him since I was four, and from that standpoint he always made me feel you gotta use your mind out there. When I see a play I can make, don’t be afraid to make it.”
Keefe dabbled with the idea of breaking up the MatthewsMarner combo and shuffling the team’s big four, which includes John Tavares and William Nylander. But that’s as far as the thought process went.
“I think there’s been such chemistry between (Matthews and Marner), and it brings some real consistency in terms of offence to our team,” Keefe said. “And it really causes a lot of problems for the opposition, what they have to think about …
“I was focusing on trying to work with the pairs of Auston and Mitch, and Will and John. I just felt comfortable with the chemistry of those pairs. Even if I went away from it for a little bit, it would never be anything permanent.”