The talk surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs this week has been focused on one name, and that is Mitch Marner. As he prepares for his return to his hometown, things are very different now. He is no longer a Maple Leaf and is set to take the ice as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.
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Ahead of that return, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke down exactly what went wrong during Marner’s nine seasons in Toronto. In a recent report, Friedman revealed the truth behind the separation of a player who was once expected to be remembered as the greatest Toronto-born Maple Leaf of all time, and an organization that ultimately felt it had no choice but to trade him to Vegas.
Fulfilling a Childhood Dream
It has been an interesting decade for Marner in Toronto. When he was drafted in 2015, the excitement from both the player and his family was impossible to miss. He was a local kid living out a lifelong dream, not just for himself but for so many Ontario-born kids who grew up cheering for the Maple Leafs.
Unfortunately, becoming a core piece of the franchise alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander came with a weight that followed him throughout his career. As Friedman explained, things shifted significantly after Marner’s 2019 contract negotiation. From that point on, he became far more aware of what was being said about him publicly.
“Marner became even more hypersensitive to what was being said about him after getting that new contract. He read too much social media. He’d check replies to his posts, search out reactions to his play. Players and staff worked with him to ease up, or delete apps from his phone. There was also the problem that, as a Torontonian, he was surrounded by family and friends who would text him or tell him what was said about him. There is zero doubt this is a major reason Marner chose to go to the Western Conference.”
As time went on, the noise only got louder. According to Friedman, everything reached a breaking point during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Toronto finally broke its first-round curse with a cathartic 2-1 Game 6 John Tavares overtime winner against Tampa Bay. Marner had a phenomenal series with 11 points in the first five games. Thirteen days later, they were gone, eliminated in five by Florida. He had three points. He wasn’t the only Leaf who struggled, but as usual, he wore it most.”
From there, things continued to trend in the wrong direction for Marner in Toronto.
Maple Leafs Tried to Find a Solution for a Fractured Relationship
Reports surfaced last season and gained more clarity over the summer, but Friedman revealed that the Maple Leafs began to sense Marner’s time in Toronto was nearing its end. As a result, they explored potential trade options in hopes of finding a solution.
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Their first serious attempt involved the Carolina Hurricanes, a team Friedman described as “long a Marner admirer.” The Maple Leafs had a deal in place that would have sent Marner to Carolina in exchange for Mikko Rantanen. However, the situation quickly became complicated.
“According to several sources, the Maple Leafs were told sometime before the New Year by Marner’s agent, Darren Ferris, that the winger might consider a trade to a Western Conference contender. It was not a demand, and no specific team was named, but the message was received.
According to the globe in my office, Carolina is not in the west. But with indications Rantanen would sign in Toronto, the Maple Leafs needed clarity. If Marner wished to stay, they’d work it out. If not, this was the best option by far to replace him.”
Friedman went on to explain that there was time for Marner to decide. But his final answer was no. “One conversation came after a game, and teammates later said they saw him flustered and upset. Ultimately, Marner declined the trade.”
After that, the Maple Leafs got the sense that Vegas was his preferred destination. They attempted to work out a three-team deal involving the Golden Knights and Hurricanes, but that too fell apart, costing Toronto the chance to land Rantanen.
Now, six months removed from being traded to Vegas, Marner is set to make his long-anticipated return to Toronto. It is the city where everything began for him, but no longer the place he and his family call home.
