During a recent episode of the Cam and Strict Podcast, former Maple Leafs defenseman Zach Bogosian fiercely defended his former teammate Mitch Marner over the constant criticism of the Leafs star.
Bogosian played for the Maple Leafs in 2020-21 and feels that the fan base has chosen Marner as the scapegoat after several Maple Leafs playoffs failures that was recently exacerbated by yet another poor performance against the Boston Bruins, which led the Maple Leafs to another first round exit.
«I'm going to bat for Mitchy. I don't understand why everyone is always up his a** about everything. I mean, that kid is such a good kid, he's a good leader, and he's always trying to take care of everyone around the locker room. He's obviously a great player, but it's almost like he's the scapegoat for everyone, like a lightning rod for everyone to say, �this is the problem.'»
Bogosian went further that he would defend and have Marner's back as he feels that he is being treated unfairly and that there were bigger issues with the team and not just the 27-year-old superstar. https://x.com/joshuakloke/status/1823747413518991684
«I'll have his back every fu***** day of the week, man,» he reiterated. «That kid, he is the best. Anyone that has something to say about him, you can f*** off because he's such a good person, they don't know. Anybody that doesn't know somebody, and decides they are going to rip him, get to know the person first.»
Many in the fanbase felt that there was the need for a major change in the Core 4. During the season ending media scrum all levels of management stated that the Leafs will have everything on the table and that winning is all that matters.
General manager Brad Treliving has worked over the summer by upgrading the Leafs defense, adding another goaltender and recently oversaw the handing of the captaincy to Auston Matthews from John Tavares.
Marner is in the final year of his contract and has made it clear that he wants to remain a Maple Leaf until the contract runs out. Will the Maple Leafs resign him to a long-term extension? Or will they let him walk into another team?
That strategy seems to have backfired several times as many former Leafs have won the Stanley Cup since they've left the organization. Let's hope Mitch isn't another tally in that chart.
