Mitch Marner's absence looms over everything as Maple Leafs camp opens

Craig Berube is pleased about one thing (maybe only one thing) that came out of Mitch Marners departure from the Toronto Maple Leafs: No more talk about the so-called Core Four.

Whats already clear at the outset of Leafs camp, though, is that Marner will loom over everything.

He may be gone, but his shadow will linger, likely all season even if the team says otherwise.

Advertisement He made his decision and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward and were moving on, Auston Matthews said.

For us now, we turn the page.

Were moving forward, added GM Brad Treliving.

We wish Mitch all the best, but our focus is on our team, not what was.

What remains is a team that will try to somehow avoid a major step backward minus Marner, the fifth-leading scorer in franchise history and a one-of-a-kind forward.

Most pressing is the matter of an immediate replacement on the right side of the top line, a competition that for now comes down to two names with lots to prove: Max Domi and Matias Maccelli.

Domi was slated to start camp in Marners place alongside Matthews and Matthew Knies, but an undisclosed injury means hell have to start his audition a little later than expected.

Whether he can recapture the late-season magic of spring 2024 this fall is really the question.

Domi nabbed that promotion in mid-March two seasons ago when Marner was out with a high-ankle sprain.

It was the best hes looked in a Leafs uniform.

He oozed chemistry with Matthews and put up 12 points in 13 games.

Five of his 11 assists during the run came on goals from Matthews.

Max does have some chemistry with Auston, Berube noted at the outset of camp.

Domi is coming off a rough season, though, including a postseason that got rougher as it went along.

A brief opportunity with Matthews during the regular season came and went.

His mission at camp when healthy: Re-establish chemistry with Matthews and prove he can be trusted to take care of the puck and defend at a passable level.

And as Berube said in a recent one-on-one with The Athletic, play a direct game that even includes a little selfishness in shooting the puck.

Its his passing thats obviously the draw, though.

If Domi fails to take off, Berube may turn to the other candidate hes eyeing at the start of camp: Maccelli, who, like Domi, is coming off an underwhelming season that led to his exit from Utah.

Advertisement The Leafs are intrigued by his playmaking, especially if paired next to Matthews, the top goal scorer in the league when healthy.

He just may not be placed there right away.

Maccelli is new to Toronto and the bright lights that come with it, and has primarily been a third-liner in the NHL.

Any line led by Matthews attracts the very best of the opposition and thus a steep leap in competition for the 24-year-old.

Its possible, too, that Maccelli finds a fit at camp on the left side of John Tavares and William Nylander in whats been a revolving second-line door over the years, ranging from Domi to Alex Kerfoot to Max Pacioretty to Alex Galchenyuk to Bobby McMann and, occasionally, Nick Robertson.

Maccellis passing ability next to two elite shooters makes him an intriguing fit there, but what then on the top line if the Domi experiment fails? With a guy like Mitch out of the lineup, were looking for somebody that can make plays and guys that can pass the puck, Berube said.

It might not be those guys if it doesnt work, he added.

We gotta figure that out.

A trade may be required work for the front office not for a Marner replacement per se, since that player doesnt exist, but someone better suited to a top-line (or top-six) gig than either Domi or Maccelli.

Yeah, we would like to add in that location, Treliving said.

But trying to find that player that is a) available and b) at what cost.

Well keep seeing where that lies.

The Leafs may just have to wait for someone to shake loose from a team that falls out of contention and decides, eventually, to sell.

The cost element could still make it a challenging pursuit for a front office that lacks a first-round pick in 2026 and 2027 and is low on Grade-A prospects.

Berube may end up having to explore internal candidates such as McMann and Dakota Joshua.

He might even want to take a look sometime, if all else fails, at Calle Jarnkrok, who briefly found a comfy connection next to Matthews under Sheldon Keefe (but who is about to turn 34 now).

Advertisement Would the Leafs coach come around to stacking the line with Nylander? To me, its not replacing 100 points, Treliving said, referring to Marner.

Somebodys going into that spot and theyre gonna (produce).

To me, it was rounding out the roster.

And the Leafs do appear set to boast a heavier, more purpose-driven third line led by Nicolas Roy, which will ease some pressure on Matthews and Tavares, as well as a fourth line with Steven Lorentz and (likely) Scott Laughton that should, at the very least, be difficult to play against.

The top six, on the other hand, is worse in Marners absence.

The penalty kill and power play, where Marner played central roles, might be, too.

Marner chowed down on so many minutes in so many situations that will now have to be spread elsewhere.

The Leafs will feel different behind the scenes, too, without Marner, an influential and energetic dressing room personality who planned team parties and made an effort to involve everyone in everything.

Media responsibilities, especially when times are tough, will fall more now on Matthews and Nylander, the teams two best players.

The burden on them to produce on the ice will be that much greater.

The Leafs can remain a very good team without Marner; maybe not an inner-circle contender, but a 100-ish-point team.

To do so, in the regular season anyway, they will need, among other things: This will be different.

Different may not be bad.

Just different.

(Top photo of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews: John E.

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