Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube can sense that forward Mitch Marner is in a good place mentally and it has had a positive impact on his play as a result.

The star winger was at the forefront of a bombshell report that emerged over the weekend: he was asked by the team to waive his no-movement clause, which would have resulted in the Leafs acquiring Mikko Rantanen, but he declined, citing his desire to remain in Toronto. Although they were on the short list of teams Rantanen was willing to be traded to and sign with, he ended up being sent to the Dallas Stars.

While it can be easy to let the uncertainty of being in a contract year and outside nose get to you, Berube told reporters after practice on Wednesday that he feels Marner remains focused on the task at hand.

“In his situation, he has been great. He is just focused on hockey. He has been focused on it all year, and he has played extremely well,” he said. “Been a real good teammate and leader for the team and has produced. The situation is what it is. I am glad he is here playing for us.”

The saga surrounding Marner’s expiring contract will not go away anytime soon, especially with so much riding on the season and how it will impact the team’s future. In fairness, the chatter surrounding negotiations was mostly quiet up until after the trade deadline and only now have things ramped up in volume.

Marner made it known early on that while he wasn’t opposed to his agent and GM Brad Treliving negotiating in-season, his preference was to focus on the games and jump in only when he was needed. It has paid off in strides because he is having one of his best seasons yet with a team-leading 80 points (21 goals and 59 assists) in 63 games played.

“I pay attention to the player and where he is at, and what he is looking like to me. You know, his body language and things like that,” Berube said. “Mitch has had good energy. He has a lot of energy in every game and every practice. He seems happy. Those are the things I focus on as a coach.”

The 27-year-old pointed out on Saturday that he has a strong support system around him via his teammates and the support staff to guide him through a year that comes with a lot of uncertainty. Treliving also made it clear that the contract saga is not a distraction, and the team is focused squarely on the season. And Marner is not the only key player on an expiring contract with John Tavares and Matthew Knies both due for extensions after this season.

All of which is to say the winger has the help he needs to get through the trials and tribulations of a contract year. If anything, the thing that Berube is more concerned about is making sure that he does not over-exert Marner and Auston Matthews.

“In the last two games, I would say I could see our energy levels drop after the first period,” he said. “Our first periods in both rinks were pretty good, and then they dropped off in the second. We sort of got it back in the third a little bit. It is a little up and down, for sure.”

Berube, Marner and the Leafs will look to get some crucial two points from their division rivals when they take on the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Puckdrop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.