Mitch Marner hits 100 points in a season for the first time in his career

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BUFFALO – The party bus was waiting and Mitch Marner wanted to hop on.

With just two games remaining and the Maple Leafs star sitting on 99 points, Marner had a feeling he’d hit 100 points against the lowly Sabres in Buffalo. And so he hatched a plan.

“I’m a real late planner, so around 11 o’clock last night I was texting a couple of my buddies – I forgot it was honestly a Tuesday, I thought it was a Saturday, because that’s usually when we come in here – but I just said, ‘If I can get you guys a party bus down here, what are you guys thinking?’ And they jumped on it right away. Luckily enough, I had six of my buddies and my brother come down,” Marner said.

A question directed at Marner in his postgame availability was interrupted by hollering nearby.

“That’s definitely one of my buddies,” Marner said.

Marner’s crew, and more importantly Marner himself, got what they wanted. Late in the third period, Auston Matthews spun and fired a quick pass from near the Sabres goal to a wide-open Marner, who fired a shot into a wide-open net. Marner was mugged by teammates, who celebrated a little more boisterously than usual. Matthew Knies shook Marner to the point that his helmet became dislodged.

Marner himself smiled, then wore a look we haven’t always seen from him through a trying season at times: one of relief, and joy. One of the NHL’s premier playmakers had finally hit the 100-point mark for the first time, in a 4-0 win over the Sabres. He now sits fifth in NHL scoring this season.

smiles to the crowd pic.twitter.com/tIWw3GRbZP

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 16, 2025

“It’ll be cool to go up in the crowd and celebrate with them,” Marner said of his friends. “It was fun seeing their celebration in the crowds as well.”

It was a moment of happiness Marner deserves. He’s previously flirted with 100 points, hitting 99 points in 2022-23 and an impressive 97 points in 72 games in 2021-22.

Though Marner has tried to downplay the importance of hitting 100 points as he’s inched closer to the mark this season, he finally allowed himself time to bask in the achievement.

“It’s a special thing, for sure. Those accomplishments don’t happen by yourself. That’s credit to a lot of guys in that locker room that have helped me out and have supported me this year,” Marner said. “The really cool thing is just the excitement from the guys over that point.”

Marner hit the 100-point mark late in arguably his most important season in Toronto to date. In the final season of a six-year contract with a $10.9 million cap hit, his performance this year could determine whether he remains in Toronto beyond 2025.

This season has seen him answer questions about his future in Toronto without a contract moving forward, and saw the Leafs approach Marner about waiving his no-movement clause with a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes a possibility. Marner turned the request down and followed that up with his most emotional media availability of the season days afterwards.

“I’m here to play hockey with this team,” Marner said after the Leafs’ 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 8. “That’s what I can tell you. I want to be with this team. I want to play with this team.”

And so finally hitting 100 in the middle of an emotionally-trying season likely means that much more to Marner. After the win, he looked and sounded like a bubbly, ebullient Marner without the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“He does so much for this team — he’s an incredible player, a special person,” Matthews said. “I’m really pleased to see him accomplish that feat. It’s not easy, so he’s had a heck of a season for us.”

“Not many guys are able to accomplish that at this level,” Steven Lorentz.

MITCH MARNER GETS HIS 100TH POINT OF THE SEASON! pic.twitter.com/qBoCfmC9lG

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 16, 2025

Crucially, hitting 100 points for the first time could provide Marner with a boost of confidence ahead of another pressure-filled Leafs playoff run. His goal helped propel the Leafs to the win, which gave them their first division title in an 82-game season since 2000.

“(Marner) has played really good hockey this year, so I don’t know why it would end going into the playoffs,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said. “The season is the season, and now there is another one starting up. He just has to keep doing what he is doing. He has done a great job of doing things the right way for us throughout the year – penalty killing, power play and at five-on-five – along with everybody else.”

That “everyone else” included Matthews on the night, who also hit a milestone of his own. With a third-period empty-net marker, Matthews scored his 400th goal, leaving him just 20 short of Mats Sundin for the most in Leafs history.

“It means a lot,” Matthews said of his goal. “(Marner) definitely set up quite a few of those, so it’s a team accomplishment, I think. It’s a team sport. There’s a lot that goes into it and I’m just fortunate that it’s come off my stick a couple of times, but it means a lot, obviously. This group’s been really supportive all year, and individual awards are nice, it’s nice to check off certain things. But the focus is still on the team.”

And so there was deserved cause for celebration ahead of the Leafs’ return to Toronto.

Would that cause for celebration be enough to allow Marner to travel back to Toronto on the party bus following the Leafs’ win? He might have to continue to celebrate with the teammates who helped get him to 100 points instead.

“I don’t think that’s allowed,” Marner said with a grin. “That’s a great question. That’d be a lot of fun.”

(Photo: Ben Ludeman / NHLI via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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