For Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon, it's cut and dried why Mitch Marner is having more success in the desert than he did with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
McCrimmon addressed Marner's playoff-leading 21-point performance again at Stanley Cup Final media day on Monday.
"I think the change has helped him. I think our team is deeper and a better team than what he had played on in Toronto," McCrimmon said. "Not that Toronto didn't have real good teams. But you have to have that depth throughout your roster. Because to go through three rounds, or hopefully four rounds, everybody has to take their turn."
Marner's teammate, Jack Eichel, is second in playoff scoring with 18 points. Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden are the only two players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to have scored double-digit goals, with 10 each.
Along with his post-season-best point total, Marner is also a staple on the Golden Knights power play and penalty-kill units, and has had highlight-reel moments, including a natural hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 and a spectacular between-the-legs goal in Game 6.
John Tortorella, who took over the Golden Knights coaching job on March 29 after Bruce Cassidy was fired, was a little more terse on Marner's playoff breakout.
"I just think he's a hell of a hockey player," Tortorella said.
Marner spoke to not just the depth, but also the chemistry that he's quickly developed in the first year with his new squad.
"I think I'm getting the puck in good areas," Marner said. "I'm scoring when I get opportunities. I think at the same time when I've put people in good areas they've been scoring as well.
"There's just a trust of one another in different situations (and) in different areas that you know you trust they got to make a play, and he's been doing it."
But he also emphasized the complete nature of Vegas's roster when asked about his newfound post-season success.
"I think you look at our team, you love all four lines, you love all three D pairs, you have trust in whoever's going over the boards with whatever's at stake or whatever needs to be done," Marner said.
After playing the first nine seasons of his career with the Maple Leafs, and being eliminated in the playoffs each time, the Markham, Ont.-born Marner will finally get a taste of Stanley Cup Final hockey.
"Mitch is playing with tremendous confidence," McCrimmon said. "... He's really savouring the moment."
