Photo credit: USA Today Sports

Paul “Biz Nasty” Bissonnette offered up a heartfelt apology to Mitch Marner and shared a wild projection for the Maple Leafs superstar winger ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Mitch Marner has taken it from all angles this summer, with fans and the media torching the former Selke Trophy nominee for his lackluster playoff performance against the Boston Bruins in Round 1 this past season.

Through it all, Leafs GM Brad Treliving has maintained that Marner is a great player and that the Leafs are lucky to have him. However, that hadn’t stopped people from talking and dragging his name through the mud.

One of Marner’s harshest critics has been Paul Bissonnette of the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast, who was among many who wanted to see Marner dealt out of Toronto this summer.

Well, that was then and this is now, and Bissonnette took to his platform to phase out his own criticism of the player and actually offer Marner an apology for his behaviour over the course of the summer. He also projected that Marner could shock the hockey world this year and have the biggest season of his entire career, in a contract year no-less.
“I’ve been hard on my boy, Marner. I was hard on him. This is Paul Bissonnette’s apology to Paul and Mitch Marner. I think he’s going to have a monster year. I think he’s going to win a Selke Trophy. I actually think there’s a possibility, after hearing he’s training with McDavid, MacKinnon, going to all these camps, training at high altitudes, going to his camp in Muskoka and getting it dialed in there… I think there’s a possibility that Mitch Marner can lead the league in scoring. I think that he might win the Art Ross Trophy this year.”
 

That’s quite the turnaround from Bissonnette, who is now under the impression that Marner could become one of the league’s most valuable players and the highest scoring player in the NHL this season.

The good news for the Maple Leafs is that if Marner does begin the season on a tear, Marner himself has already confirmed that he is entirely good with his agent, Darren Ferris, negotiating with the Leafs during the season.

I’m not sure I’d put money on Marner winning the Art Ross Trophy, but a bounce back season under a new coach is certainly a possibility, and given his previous positioning in the Selke Trophy race, I wouldn’t discount the possibility that he could challenge for the award this season. More than anything else, though, I just want to see Marner put it together in the postseason and help propel the Leafs to some success when the games really matter. I think that’s really all anyone in Leafs Nation wants, and if Marner can deliver that, I’m sure all will be forgiven and the fans from all corners of the fan base will adore the Markham, Ontario native.