Mitch Marner is no longer a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, having been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nicolas Roy.
Marner had just signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with a $12 million cap hit before being sent to the Golden Knights. It officially signaled the end of an era in Toronto, where Marner was known as one of the club’s “Core Four” players that included Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares.
The Maple Leafs have already re-signed Tavares to a new contract, along with restricted free agent forward Matthew Knies, but ultimately chose to move on from Marner.
Mitch Marner Discusses Departure From Maple Leafs
Marner met with media members wearing the Golden Knights’ colors for the first time Tuesday and expressed his excitement about joining a team and living in a new area he felt was the best fit for his family.
“Everything here is a good fit for my wife and I and our new son. The winning aspect of this team really helps everything as well. We have great players here. Luckily, it all worked out because this is where we wanted to be,” Marner said.
He then explained what went into his decision to depart from Toronto, disclosing that the entire team was unsure of what was going to happen amid plentiful trade rumors.
“Last year in Toronto, or two years ago really… we didn’t win, obviously. We didn’t do what we wanted to do. Stuff started going a little north, little south. We didn’t know what was going to happen. A lot of trade rumors all last summer, didn’t know what was going to happen in that regard, either,” Marner explained.
The Golden Knights are only two years removed from the first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history, and Marner hopes to help them return to the mountaintop.
“You want to be in a place where you want to win,” Marner said. “That’s the whole goal of why we do this. You want to hoist that Stanley Cup and this team has shown that they can do it. I’m lucky enough to now hopefully bring in another piece to hopefully bring it back here.
“We put the most pressure on ourselves as hockey players, that’s how we play the game. We want to win every single night. You want to win every battle, you want to win anything you can all the time. This team since it’s entered the League has really pushed the boundaries to be that winning team, that’s where I want to be.”
Marner, who was selected fourth overall by the Maple Leafs in 2015, has scored 221 goals with 520 assists in 657 regular-season games, along with 13 goals and 50 assists in 70 postseason games.
They were the only team to take Florida to seven games and this guy scored one goal. That is why they didn’t win. And the only reason there were trade rumors was because this guy refused to negotiate during the season and the organization was scared he was gonna do what he did…SCREW THEM and leave for nothing in return. He talks about loving the fans and his teammates yet he left us fighting to recuperate his tantrum. This guy is trouble Vegas and if he isnt treated like a king he will pout and talk behind other players backs. The reason he left was because he was criticized heavily for his poor play nine straight playoff season. But Auston Matthews getting the captaincy over him threw him over the edge. Good Riddance Mitch.
He is lying through his teeth
Why wont you allow me to question Marner’s words. I thought this was journalism and not public Relations