It’s been said before that Matt Martin, one of the Maple Leafs’ few veterans, is like a father figure for the team. If so, we got a very special father and son moment between Martin and second-year forward Mitch Marner before Toronto’s game against Detroit on Wednesday night.
Maple Leafs forwards joyously share smelling salts before game
Nobody has more fun with smelling salts than Matt Martin and Mitch Marner.
Who has more fun inhaling smelling salts than this?
Smelling salts, or ammonium carbonate, is a noxious inhalant that causes a rush for the user, increasing their alertness and energy level. It’s largely harmless in small doses, so it’s a common sight on NHL benches to see players huffing it up.
Here’s Martin hooking up Marner with a fat hit from the smelling salts back in February:
And here’s the duo back in March:
How sweet. There are a lot of ways that Martin’s leadership role might manifest itself in the Maple Leafs’ locker room, but this one may be the most hilarious. Marner made it clear in September how much he likes having the 28-year-old around.
“He meant a lot, he was kind of a fatherly figure on the road and in this dressing room, he was a lot of help,” Marner said. “He’s a great guy to have around constantly and talk to and I was lucky enough to have him on my team. Hopefully he’s going to be here for a long time with me.”
Marner and Martin are far from the only players in the NHL who regularly use smelling salts, but they definitely seem to have more fun with it than anyone else. It’s good to see the family in Toronto is still getting along.
