Marner not in 'panic mode' after playoff exit

Mitch Marner believes the Toronto Maple Leafs' best strategy is to stay the course despite another disastrous first-round playoff exit.

"Everyone just wants to get into panic mode and do stuff and try to change something up, but I think they (management) have a lot of confidence in our team," Marner said at his end-of-season media availability, according to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta. "It's up to them to decide what they want to do. We all know how much talent we have."

The heavily favored Maple Leafs blew a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens, marking the 17th straight season they've failed to win a playoff round. It's also the fifth time the Auston Matthews and Marner-led core has been unable to advance, leading to increased criticism in recent days.

"The end result is terrible," Marner said, according to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan. "It's not what we wanted. No one is feeling good about this. It's awful ... what we didn't accomplish is a really shitty feeling."

Marner registered four assists in seven games versus the Habs while averaging over 24 minutes per night. He's riding an 18-game goalless drought in his playoff career.

The online backlash included a report that Marner refused to change his role on the Leafs' struggling top power-play unit, which he denied Wednesday.

"It's a complete lie," Marner said, according to Kristen Shilton of TSN. "It's just people trying to get their name out there. It sucks that stuff like that's being said. I think everyone can see I'll try and play any role I can to help this team win."

Toronto drafted Marner fourth overall in 2015. He's recorded 358 points in 355 career games with his hometown team.

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