Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - Where Was THIS Mitch Marner In Toronto?? 🔥 Ft. TSN's Noodles | BB Clips

Episode Date: May 22, 2026

Boomer, Pinder and Rhett dive into Mitch Marner’s unbelievable playoff run with the Vegas Golden Knights and ask the question every Leafs fan is thinking right now… where the hell was this version of Marner in Toronto? The guys discuss how different he looks in Vegas, from the confidence in his game to the way he’s attacking offensively and thriving under playoff pressure. Is it just a change of scenery? Less pressure? Better fit? Whatever it is, Marner suddenly looks like a completely different player. Later in the segment, TSN’s Jamie “Noodles” McLennan joins the conversation and gives his thoughts on Marner’s shocking transformation.Video Link: https://youtu.be/khOX2Axgl_c#nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #torontomapleleafs #vegasgoldenknights CHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mitch Marner. Magic Mitz, double M. Mitch Marner. Buddy boss? So many M's. We talked about the other day. Were we kind of being tongue and cheek, not giving him credit or we're... It was me running everyone's...

Because, oh, look at Mitch. It's like, well, Mitch had to play Boston, Tampa, Florida, first round every year on a team that didn't have winners. I don't know that Mitch Marner's a totally different, reborn cat so much as you got to roll up a couple of 92 point teams and he's slotted properly. He's playing on

second line. Like he's Eichl does heavy lifting he gets to eat. They put him with what, Howden and Dorofaev? Yeah. And they've just been awesome. A little bit everything on that. I can't decide if you're giving him credit or take it. I don't know. I think he's playing better. But I... So here's the power play.

Hurdle gets it to Marner. This is a hell of a play. Zoop. It's a Dorofiavio who gets it off in a hurry in Marner. again, not regard as the most rugged guy, but he takes a pretty hard check here, but still makes the play to make the play happen. Wedgwood's going the other way,

and that makes it two nothing on the power play. And it was that, that's what it's like, ooh, I think everybody even in the building, you're watching on TV, hmm, okay. Okay, you got my attention now. We're, uh, we're maybe in one here. I don't know. It's, if, if you're not given,

if you're not giving him credit or, And I don't know that When does that happen? When do you start to look at it and say, okay, well, maybe I just think the Leafs thing is always been a very good player. And it's just that market was so toxic and that court didn't win. And so people were trying to say he was never that good and now he's better. It's the same guy.

But part of the knock. Part of the knock is though that playoffs come and you can't depend on him. Well, he's leading the playoffs and scoring. He's got 19 and 13, 14 of those points are on the road. he's making he's making Vegas better well I don't just along for no question argue with you to say he's slotted differently

well he's one of the top paid guys he's just and he's playing with talented players still and he was making you could argue more talented like when you're more talented well I just think like the guys in Toronto that core no one ever thought they weren't good in the regular season but what happens when we start talking about the playoffs William Nealander this Austin Matthews that

Morgan around like you go through that roster and you just tear these guys apart for not being spring players. He's suddenly on a team surrounded by guys that have rings, all of them. Half the roster's got rings there. Like he led the forwards in ice time.

Yeah. So it's not like he's in a secondary role. No, I just mean like he's not on Eichl's line, which, you know, that's good and bad. You're not going to get the Eichael plays,

but you also aren't going to get the Eichl matchups. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. They don't need, and he doesn't need to impress me. I mean, who the hell am I?

One of the most influential internet hacks. That's right. They're casual. And if in Toronto, it's like, Jesus, Guy. What a hell. What a road. Buddy Rosie thinks. He's a big,

Martin Regal. How dare you? He's a big. Who do you think you are? Thank you. That's kind of more my take on it, is that he was never as bad as he was vilified to be in Toronto. And of course,

did you get out of that toxic spot with a group that couldn't win, now it's like, well, look, he's changed. Like, what if he's just a good player and a different, good team that actually knows how to play in the spring? You're still, infusing me with your take. I don't know. Yeah, I don't really know what.

You're kind of saying he's good, but he wasn't good. Is he a different player or the same player? I guess that's the real question. Because like he's always been in the league distribute of the puck that maybe he's a little bit soft, but can make plays pile of points when he's hot. And it changed or just the surroundings. That's really what I'm trying to get at. Well, what I'm getting the league and scoring in the playoffs where. Yeah, but if you played nine games, you wouldn't be.

And that's where Nathan McKinnon is. Like he's played 13 versus 10 or whatever it is. So are you saying he's good? I'm just saying I think he's the same player and better surroundings, that's all. Well, okay, well, then I can argue that well, he's playing with frickin Tavares or Matthews or whoever it wasn't Toronto, it wasn't scrubs.

They were in the spring, though, was kind of the point, right? In the regular season, those guys were always good at pot on points. But now he's doing it in the playoffs. So it's just that he's on Vegas. Is he a different player or is surroundings better or is it both? That's sort of the way I pegged the conversation. So what's your answer to that? I think he's the same guy.

I think the surroundings are way better. I don't think that group gets tight if they're down or they're trailing in a series. If you're in a room with 12 guys with Rings are at versus zero, like tell me about the vibes in the room in the playoffs. I don't know. No, but you've been on teams where you've got, you've been surrounded by guys that have won. And you've been out of series?

No, I have not. So when none of the teams had a bunch of winners? No. Okay. Like Brian Scrooerlin won his Stanley Cup. He would have been our only Stanley Cup guy in Florida. What about Buffalo. No one.

Really? No one. And in Calgary, Stefaniel? Yeah. No, we were the scrubs. So you were the green guys. We were the scrubs just trying to hang on. There's no real answer to it.

What is happening is the guy is playing well. And is it a coincidence? I don't know. I think there's got to be part of him that's happy to be away from that spotlight. that scrutiny and pressure and leave and you've always said if you can't well don't go to the grocery store then then just stay home but there's there's something that's a little more relaxed the irony is that he's had one of his more pedestrian regular seasons he was 80 points yeah and he was the guy he could put down for a hundred in the regular season in Toronto and then he wouldn't see him in the

spring and now he's having the monster spring got to be happy for Mitch life's good right now I vaguest in waiver storyline I know it's big uh in the world but it's big out here in Toronto. Mitch Marner looks great. I mean, that's elite. Yeah, that was, that's elite. That's elite stuff. So, you know, I wouldn't sleep on Vegas.

I still had Colorado getting through, but again, I had Tampa getting through. You name it. I had many people getting through that didn't get through. So Colorado, or sorry, Vegas put people on notice last night. Okay, so we talked about off the top of the show. Has something changed in Mitch Marner? or his surroundings just way better for Mitch Marner in the spring? Probably a little bit of both, but I would say the surroundings, definitely.

He doesn't have to be the guy. He's one of the guys. And he's probably the most unique talent on that team because we know Eichl's got the big shot, great skater. Stone is really hard on the boards. Their superstars are unique. And I would say Mitch Marner is probably the most talented out of all of them when it comes to puck play and vision and distributing the puck.

So he might be, and we saw it last night, he might be the missing piece for that group. You know, Dorofiev is a shooter. Brett Howden, you know, tough to play against. They've got depth. They're hard. Their deacon move the puck. And as I said before, the goaltending needed stability. And Hart's provided that.

So I look at Mitch Marner coming to Vegas. It might have taken a bit for him to settle into the West. conference compared to the Eastern Conference. They played him at Center Ice a lot, which was, man, you know, you're thinking, why did they move them to Center Ice? But everything that has happened for Mitch Marner for a reason, it's not like he was terrible in the playoffs for the Toronto Maple Leafs. What happened is that core did not get it done when the chips were down.

That's a difference. Mitch Marner had great plays and he had things that you're like, okay, that's special players do that. But when it was a game seven, when you got pushed into a physical confrontation, Boston was heavy on them, Florida was heavy on them, Tampa would be heavy on them. And they wouldn't have an answer. In last year or two years ago, we'd call it now, games five and seven, they got pushed out in the games by the Florida Panthers. And the thing that I would defend against for Mitch Marner, it wasn't just him. It was Neelander.

it was Matthews, it was Tavares, it was all of them. And that core as a group just didn't work. And they were stubborn and they tried to make it work. It didn't. So Mitch chose to move on. But he's just in a different setting now. I think the pressure is different and not just the pressure from the media and the fans, just the pressure of being in that organization.