TORONTO — We’re funny, us humans, aren’t we?
We like reminders of the last things we’ll forget.
We wear wedding rings to think of our marriages. We hang images of our chosen god(s) to remind us that we’re not actually all-powerful. And we get giant tattoos of howling wolves on our pectoral muscles, so we remember how badass wolves are. (Pretty badass, especially with a full moon in the background.)
Tiny resets. Refreshers.
They ground us.
Mitch Marner used to take a Sharpie and draw a tiny smiley face on the palm of his gloves to remind himself that hockey — the passion that drew him since he was a kid — was supposed to be fun.
Hey, why not have some fun playing it, even if the pressure, money and criticism can mount to serious levels?
Then the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar got himself a dog, a chocolate Lab named Zeus. He fell in love, as most dog owners do. He began scribbling a Z on his gloves and on the white tape wrapped around the knob of his sticks.
“I just try to do what he does out there when he’s on the field,” Marner explained a few years back. “Just buzz around and chase down the ball and be a big force.”
Well, shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday morning, between the relief of Game 6 and the refocus for Game 1, Marner and his wife Stephanie became parents to a well-timed baby boy: Miles Daniel Marner.
Out came the Sharpie again.
Now, when Marner sits on the bench between his intense playoff shifts, the top of his stick is marked with a Leafs-blue M in honour of his firstborn. Right at eye level.
A tiny oasis in the heat of battle.
“Just calmness,” Marner said Wednesday night, minutes after snapping home the Game 2 winner and ensuring this will be his longest playoff run yet.
“I try to stay calm as much as I can throughout games, it’s always a roller-coaster ride. There’s always stuff going on, stuff you can’t predict happening. I’ve always had the Z on my stick and my gloves, and now I’m adding the M to it, just for my son. And, yeah, it’s just something that I’m trying to play for him.”
Playing to make someone proud is purer than playing to prove someone wrong.
“It’s a cool thing to see it during games and just calm myself down and just take a deep breath. Just relax and try and go out there and do my thing,” Marner said.
Becoming a dad in the middle of a playoff run is a “whirlwind,” Marner attests.
Your most important personal moment and professional moments colliding and coalescing.
“It’s been a really exciting time in my house with my wife and I and our families, just with the excitement of our newborn,” Marner continued.
“My wife’s been an absolute beast throughout this whole process, letting me get my sleep and taking the reins on our newborn. It’s been a special moment. It’s a pretty special feeling tonight scoring that goal, for sure.”
Spin it around and you can view at Marner’s Game 2 winner — shot from distance — as a miss on Sergei Bobrovsky’s part (which is what Florida coach Paul Maurice did) or a brilliant response 17 seconds after the Panthers tied a pivotal game.
“A lot of good stuff happened in his life. And then, obviously, a huge goal tonight,” head coach Craig Berube said. “Mitch is a great player. We all know that. A very intelligent player. Plays extremely well on both sides of the puck and touches all areas of the game for you. But he does have the ability to make something happen when it counts.”
Marner has two goals and eight points in eight post-season games this spring. He’s not lighting the world on fire (William Nylander is), but he’s playing strong defensively.
And, boy, did he come up clutch when needed. Which is what happened when he threw on the Team Canada sweater at the 4 Nations.
“I’m so happy for him,” Nylander said. “It’s an incredible moment in your life. To do that and playing incredible hockey is so special.”
“Super happy for him,” adds Max Pacioretty, father of five. “You think back to the time of your first child. And this time of year, it’s probably a lot. But a lot of good stuff has come out of it, and he’s playing for Miles right now.”
John Tavares has always Sharpied the names of his children — Jace, Axton, and Rae — on the knob of his stick as well. Plus their respective birthdates.
“It’s really special. Gives you tremendous perspective and meaning to life and see things really, really differently,” Tavares said. “Anyone becoming a parent, becoming a father, it’s pretty remarkable. For him, he’s been probably real emotional and trying to soak it all in. It’s really, really special, so really happy for Mitchy and his wife and his family.”
Something different.
Something real.
Something to play for.
More from Sportsnet What’s different about the Maple Leafs in this year’s playoffsWhy series-leading Maple Leafs are the best version Marchand has seen
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘Playing for Miles’: Maple Leafs’ Marner has a new source of inspiration )
Also on site :
- UAE denies supplying Sudan paramilitaries with Chinese arms
- A new Florida bill about non-compete agreements could mean big changes to the employment landscape
- The 45 Best Mother's Day Cake Ideas