For many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jan. 23 has been a night that was circled on the calendar for quite some time. For the second time in this era, a player deemed “The Toronto Kid” came home.
This time was different. Last time, they were on the opposite end. John Tavares signed a big contract, bringing him to the young, promising roster, and led the way as captain for five seasons. This time, it was the Toronto Kid they drafted, helped lead the roster through the “Core Four” era, defined himself as a true superstar, and then left the Maple Leafs.
There is a ton of context in between all of those events for Mitch Marner, but the decade-long story all built up to a night where everyone seemed anxious to see what happened.
Messy Departure Led to Uncertain Return
Marner leaving the Maple Leafs is still a developing story. There are reports about the lead-up to the departure that are still being released. Fans have their list of reasons to have wanted to move on from Marner, whether it be pointing to playoff performances, contract situations, on-ice attitude, or even negating a trade to bring in Mikko Rantanen.
How much of that is fair? Well, that is not for me to decide, but for the Maple Leafs fanbase, there are plenty of people passionate about their reasoning for their frustration toward Marner.
All of this built up to the fact that Marner wasn’t going to re-sign with the Maple Leafs. He was a pending unrestricted free agent and has just posted a career-high 102 points.
Indications that Marner was eyeing Vegas, and vice versa, started a long time ago. There are reports that the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights were in talks about Marner as far back as a year ago. Plus, with the rumours that he was asking players about living in Vegas while at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, it seemed that his mind could be away from his current team.
That isn’t the case. Marner gave Toronto everything he had up until his final game. He was a Maple Leafs up until the moment he wasn’t.
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He was then traded for a couple of assets, which isn’t necessarily an important part of the story, but he did not walk for nothing.
Fans Boo Marner All Game
Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy did the right thing and put Marner on the ice for the first shift of the game. There must have been a pile of nerves for Marner.
He didn’t waste any time getting his first touch of the puck, and immediately, the fans began to boo. Considering the fact that there was a recorded attendance of 19,305, that large group of people had immaculate timing.
Not one puck touch was missed; they only booed for as long as he had possession, and made sure he heard it.
For an arena that has been accused of being too quiet and lacking passion, the arena understood the assignment for this game.
Fans expressed their frustration with Marner, and they were right to do that. From a fan’s perspective, adding together the negotiation issues across his career, the playoff performances, and the fact that he left, that all gives them plenty of reason to boo.
Tribute Video Brings Cheer From Crowd
Close to the halfway point of the first period, the Maple Leafs played a tribute video. From big moments against the Boston Bruins to some of his first plays, there was a bit of everything included in that video. It wasn’t necessarily special, but it was a well-done video tribute.
The arena was fairly quiet during the video, but as it concluded and Marner took a skate around and waved, he got an ovation from the audience.
It is hard not to see Jonathan Toews’ return to Chicago and think that, in an alternate universe, that is the same welcoming Marner would have gotten. If a few more things went right for Marner and the Maple Leafs, he could have gone down as one of the greatest to play for the team, and certainly the best to play for them for a south-Ontario-born player.
The applause Toews received was nearing the four-minute mark before he had to shut it down. Marner’s didn’t last nearly that long, but it was a happy moment in that building. There was plenty of cheering, Marner gave his official thanks, and the game continued.
Fans wasted no time getting the booing back, picking up where they left off on his next shift.
Maple Leafs fans, at least the ones in Scotiabank Arena, had the perfect response for Marner’s return. They booed him as a member of the Golden Knights during the game, but when it came time to thank him for what he did in Toronto, they gave him that praise.
Well done, Torontonians.
