“It's possible Marner could be sent down,” reports NHL insider

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a change to their line up, and though NHL insiders will say it's not a big deal, TSN's Darren Dreger notes that the big deal will be on how Mitch Marner will respond to coach Mike Babcock's message. 

The young star forward has been bumped down to the fourth line, and Babcock is sending a message to Marner. Connor Brown moves up to the third line with centre Tyler Bozak and winger James van Riemsdyk. But the most important question remains, how will Marner react?

"Marner's got to dig in a little deeper," said Dreger on Landsberg in the Morning on Tuesday. "He needs to prove that he deserves to play higher up in the lineup."

In five games this season, Marner has recorded a goal and three assists, and shows a -6 differential. 

"I mean it's possible [he could be sent down], but it would have to be a significant drop off. Far more than what we have see thus far. Babcock is yanking on the chain every opportunity he gets, it's because he knows how much better this group has to get, including Mitch Marner, but not just Mitch Marner."

"It would have to be a confidence thing, where you send him down to rebuild his confidence," explained Dreger. 

Marner is one of the few issues that Babcock has had to deal with in an otherwise strong launch to the 2017-18 season. Marner has accepted the shift, and now is looking to prove his coach wrong and get back on the top lines.