The Toronto Maple Leafs winning a playoff series for just the second time since 2004 was not the only good news for forward Mitch Marner this week.
The Canadian hockey player and his wife, Stephanie LaChance, reportedly welcomed the arrival of a baby boy on Sunday, May 4. As a result, Marner was absent from the team’s practice session.
Hockey Fans Congratulate Mitch Marner and His Wife
Marner, 27, married Stephanie LeChance in 2023 in a special ceremony at Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Several of his fellow teammates were in attendance. The couple announced they were expecting their first child together in February 2025.
NHL fans took to social media to congratulate Marner and his wife after the Leafs’ official PR account had posted an announcement about the child’s birth on X.
Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed the arrival of a baby boy this morning. Marner will not participate in today’s practice.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR)
Fans shared their congratulations and good wishes with some creative posts.
Congratulations to the Marners!🩵🩵
Mitchy about to have those dad powers.
— Jacob Pacheco (@JacobPacheco6)
“We all know what happened when someone was not playing the greatest and then had a child and absolutely started torching these boys…,” a user said.
“Must have been hard to keep his mind on his game with his wife that late in her pregnancy, give him some credit. Now he can concentrate on his game,” a fan said.
“Bro getting that dad strength just in time for round 2,” another fan posted.
well there goes Mitch’s sleep schedule but in all seriousness, Congrats Mitchy
— Bungie878 (@munzee09)
Maple Leafs Eliminated Ottawa in Round 1
Marner had one goal and seven assists for eight points in the six-game first-round series against the Ottawa Senators. Toronto won the first three games of the series before losing the next two, adding to their miserable recent postseason run of only one win in 14 playoff elimination games.
However, the Maple Leafs rallied during Game 6 and defeated the Senators 4-2. That marks five consecutive playoff series victories for Toronto over Ottawa.
The Leafs want to end a record 56-season trophy drought, the longest-ever in the NHL. Toronto last lifted the Stanley Cup in 1967. Team captain Auston Matthews spoke about the players’ determination to win in a media session after the deciding game.
“You know, like I kind of talked about, nothing else really matters; all the outside stuff doesn’t really matter. It’s about the 20, 25 guys that are in our room and the belief in one another, doing it for one another and just going out there and competing. This one feels good,” Matthews said via NHL.com.
The Maple Leafs will face the current Stanley Cup holders, the Florida Panthers, in Round 2. The puck drop for Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Monday, May 5.
