Mitch Marner is not exactly known for his feistiness, but on Sunday in Minnesota, he took a series of swings at Wild forward Joel Eriksson-Ek during a scrum.

Marner’s claim to fame throughout his career has been all about his elite playmaking abilities and not so much what he can do after the whistle when the extra-curricular activity flares up. However, on Sunday night against the Wild, frustrations came to the surface and we saw the angry side of Marner come out.

At the tail-end of the first period, Marner was engaged in a board-battle, trying to tie up the puck in the Leafs’ end to avoid the Wild getting any late scoring chances. As the clock wound down and the board battle resolved, Marner turned and first shoved Eriksson-Ek before delivering a couple of punches directed at the Swede.

Since Craig Berube’s arrival in Toronto, we have seen the team take a very different approach to how they play the game. We’ve seen a more aggressive Leafs team and the stars have even been in the mix on occasion as well.

Just a couple of nights ago, we saw Auston Matthews drill Ryan Suter with a stiff, retaliatory cross-check after the whistle, dropping the veteran defenseman after a cheap shot that took out Marner away from the play. Now, seeing Marner stick up for himself as well, it’s a really good sign that the players are really buying in.

These types of situations are far more relevant when the playoffs come around, and with the Leafs in major need of some post-season success, having guys buy into this mentality now may just lead to a very different result come April, May and June.

I don’t imagine we’ll see Marner dropping the gloves anytime soon, but it’s good to see that when push comes to shove, the slender winger is not going to back down.