“Came up Short,” Mitch Marner Makes Heartfelt Admission Following Exit from Maple Leafs After 9 Seasons

Mitch Marner signed an 8-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and then got traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal.

“Came up Short,” Mitch Marner Makes Heartfelt Admission Following Exit from Maple Leafs After 9 Seasons

Mitch Marner (Image via Imago)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

The Mitch Marner era at the Toronto Maple Leafs has officially come to an end. On Tuesday, the 28-year-old forward left his hometown team and joined the Vegas Golden Knights. In a message to the fans, he opened up about the failures and expressed his sorrow.

Marner joined the Maple Leafs in 2016 and quickly established himself as one of the cornerstones of the team. Along with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares, he formed the ‘Core 4‘ of the Maple Leafs.

This year, he was in the final year of his 6-year contract. After declining to waive his no-trade clause and refusing a large contract, it seemed destined that he would end up leaving the Toronto-based outfit once his contract officially expires.

There had been some reports of a sign-and-trade deal with the Golden Knights. It was made official on Tuesday as the player signed an 8-year deal with the Leafs and was then traded away to the Golden Knights in exchange for Nicolas Roy.

In his 9 seasons with the Maple Leafs, Marner scored 221 goals and had 520 assists (771 points) in 657 regular-season games. As for the playoffs, he played in 70 games and scored 13 goals and provided 50 assists (63 points).

While he delivered some big moments in his tenure with the Leafs, the one thing he was not able to achieve was the Stanley Cup success. The Leafs suffered some tough losses in the playoffs.

In a message to Toronto and the fans on his Instagram account, the forward made a heartfelt admission about coming up short and expressed sorrow regarding this.

When I was drafted, all I wanted was to help bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto. That was always the goal, and I came up short. I know how much this team means to this city, and I know the expectations that come with wearing this jersey. I gave everything I had, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. That’s hard to admit, because I wanted it so badly, for all of us.

This year, the Maple Leafs blew a 2-0 lead in the second series against the Florida Panthers. They lost Games 3, 4, and 5 but won in Game 6 to force Game 7. In the elimination game, they got crushed 6-1 by the Panthers, who eventually went to repeat as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers once again.

Mitch Marner greeted by bands during welcome to Golden Knights

After spending 9 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner decided to move away from his hometown and agreed to join the Vegas Golden Knights. Upon his arrival, he and his family were greeted with bands.

Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner as a Vegas Golden Knights player (Image via TSN)

In a video shared by the Golden Knights on their social media handles, drums could be heard beating as Marner entered the team’s office. As he donned the No.93 jersey of the team, the team employees would clap loudly and cheer for him.

In the press conference after joining the team, the player expressed that the “winning regimen” of the team was something that made him chose Vegas as his next destination.

The winning regimen they’ve put up through the past five years, really since they’ve been in the league. They’ve got such a competitive team every year. They’ve got some good players here.

Marner, a 3-time NHL All-Star, also claimed that he spoke with his two former Maple Leafs teammates, Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves, who both played for the Golden Knights before, and explained how Vegas could be an ideal place for him and his family.

Marner joins the Golden Knights on an 8-year, $96 million deal. This will see him have a $12 million Annual Average Value (AAV) from the 2025-26 season.

The Golden Knights, on the other hand, will enter their 9th season in the NHL. The team that was formed during the 2017-18 season, have won the division championships 4 times, the conference championship 2 times and lifted the Stanley Cup in 2023 by beating the Florida Panthers.

Also Read: