Agent worried about Matthews and Marner’s mental health following coverage of Game 7 collapse

“There is something seriously wrong with the fans and media and how they attack players.”

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Agent worried about Matthews and Marner’s mental health following coverage of Game 7 collapse
Zuma Press

The Montreal Canadiens might have stunned the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, but did it in a positive light while the losing team is facing more uncomfortable questions following another post-season disaster.

It didn’t take long for several fans and media outlets to use this collapse to go after the players who managed to choke once again in a first-round series. The Leafs’ last series win, and the last Game 7 played between Canadian teams, was 17 years ago — 6,250 days to be exact — against Ottawa in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

We all saw the headlines, pictures and comments and now agent Allan Walsh is worried about the mental health of the Maple Leafs, especially Mitch Marner’s and Auston Matthews’. 

This is because Toronto has now lost seven straight post-season series, and dropped eight consecutive contests where it could have eliminated an opponent. That includes seven since 2018 with the core of Matthews, Marner and William Nylander.

Marner did not score a single goal in the series, collecting four assists in seven games, and fans were quick to point out his $11 million price tag, stating that he should be moved this summer for not being a clutch postseason player. 

As for Matthews, he didn’t come close to having that impact either. The guy who won the Rocket Richard Trophy in the regular season was nowhere to be found. He had one goal in the series. 

This has been repeated over and over in the past days and now agent Allan Walsh believes it’s been enough. This is what he posted on social media, along with pictures of the different brutal headlines written by media following the collapse. 

“There is something seriously wrong with the fans and media and how they attack players. It’s taking a toll on their mental health.  Yes, they make a lot of money and criticizing poor performance is fair.  What I’m seeing lately crosses a line.”


It is clear to see that the Maple Leafs failed to get money’s worth out of Matthews and Marner. However, it seems like saying it is another thing that might have a more significant impact on the players’ mental health. 

We all remember in the regular season how Canadiens’ Jonathan Drouin was forced to step away from the game to take care of his mental health. It is no secret that the pressure is high in Montreal, especially for a guy born and raised in the province of Quebec. 

The pressure might have gone up wildly in Toronto as well. And while Matthews might be able to flee the city for the summer, Marner the local boy will find it hard to face this reality until he can prove fans wrong again in the 2021-22 season. 


Source: Twitter