Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews have been hearing it from Maple Leafs fans, and now, Kunlun Red Star have gotten in on the jokes as well.
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 6-1 on Wednesday night against the Florida Panthers in Game 5, and with the team now facing another Stanley Cup Playoffs meltdown, they’ve been the butt of the joke in the NHL for the past 36 hours.
The main criticism in that time has been mainly directed towards captain Auston Matthews and pending free agent Mitch Marner, and it’s the latter point that has had many Maple Leafs fans calling for the team to not extend No. 16 this off-season.
On social media, one fan took it to the next level, photoshopping Matthews and Marner in Kunlun Red Star gear, making the joke that the two should be out of the NHL and playing in China instead.
What ended up shocking fans was the reaction from the Red Star themselves, who replied on social media stating that they’re all good with their current roster, and will decline the offer of having both join their team.
Of course, if both Matthews and Marner were available and interested in playing in the KHL, the Red Star would jump all over the opportunity, but in this case they took the low hanging fruit and joined in on the social media trash talking of two of the NHL’s biggest stars.
Despite all of this talk in recent times, the Maple Leafs still have a chance to turn their series around, as they are down just 3-2 with a potential Game 7 set to take place in Toronto if they can get through Game 6, and if they don’t, this summer is going to be so, so much more of this criticism for both players, and especially for Marner’s free agency value moving forward.
This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.
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