Mitch Marner Faces Maple Leafs for First Time: A Surreal Homecoming in Vegas
LAS VEGAS - Mitch Marner knew this week would stir up some emotions. And how could it not? For the first time in his NHL career, he’s preparing to line up against the Toronto Maple Leafs - the team he grew up idolizing, the team that drafted him in 2015, and the team where he spent nearly a decade dazzling fans with his creativity, vision, and elite playmaking.
Now, he’s wearing the gold and steel of the Vegas Golden Knights, and on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena, he’ll face off against his old teammates in a matchup that’s as emotionally charged as it is intriguing on the ice.
“Probably excitement, nerves,” Marner admitted when asked about what he expected to feel. “I’ve just gotta remind myself that it’s just another hockey game… go out there and have fun with it, because that’s when you’re at your best.”
That mindset is classic Marner - competitive, but grounded. And it’ll be tested in full when he finds himself matched up against familiar faces like Auston Matthews and William Nylander, players he once shared the spotlight with in Toronto’s high-powered top six.
The transition from Leafs blue to Vegas gold came via a sign-and-trade deal last summer. Marner inked an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Golden Knights, betting on a fresh start in a new market - and on a franchise with a recent Stanley Cup pedigree.
“It’ll be strange at first, and then it just becomes normal,” said Morgan Rielly, Marner’s longtime teammate and close friend. Rielly, who’s seen just about everything during his time in Toronto, knows how weird it’ll feel to see Marner on the other bench - maybe even trying to poke the puck away from Nylander, or battling Matthews for positioning.
Still, the Leafs aren’t making a spectacle out of it. “We’re not gonna make a big thing out of it,” Rielly added. “It’s not something we’re really talking about at all.”
There won’t be time for much off-ice reminiscing either. Vegas played in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, meaning the usual pregame dinner or coffee with old teammates is off the table - at least until after the final horn.
“I golfed with him once during the offseason,” Rielly said with a smile. “And we talked about the fact that our schedules don’t really align.”
The timing of it all is poetic. Thursday’s game in Vegas is just the first half of a home-and-home series between the Golden Knights and Leafs, with the second game coming next week in Toronto - Marner’s official return to Scotiabank Arena.
“It’s like a week apart,” Marner said. “It’ll be fun to do both.”
That Toronto return? It’s going to be fascinating.
Marner left the Leafs as one of the most productive players in franchise history - sixth all-time in points, fourth in assists - and a fan favorite for much of his tenure. But he also left at a time when the team was desperate to keep its core intact, and that decision could stir mixed emotions from the fan base.
So what kind of reception does he expect?
“I have no idea,” Marner said candidly. “I had a lot of great years there, a lot of fun.
I’m very appreciative of that fan base and the love I got from them for the nine years I was there. We’ll see what it’s like.”
Marner’s time in Toronto was a rollercoaster - electric regular-season performances, big-time point totals, and highlight-reel plays. But it was also marked by playoff heartbreak, with the Leafs repeatedly falling short of expectations despite a loaded roster. Fair or not, Marner was often at the center of that postseason scrutiny.
All of it seemed to lead to his departure this past June - a mutual parting of ways between a player and a franchise that couldn’t quite get over the hump together.
Asked what he hopes Leafs fans remember about his time in Toronto, Marner reflected on his growth - not just as a player, but as a person.
“I mean, obviously, we wished for more (success). We wanted to do more.
But it didn’t happen, unfortunately,” he said. “A lot of great memories, a lot of great times.
It’s unfortunate that it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to. But that’s the way hockey goes.”
On Thursday night, Marner will take the ice in Vegas with a new crest on his chest, a new city behind him, and a new chapter underway. But for a few moments, when he looks across the ice and sees Matthews, Nylander, Rielly and the rest of the Leafs, it’ll be impossible not to feel the history - and maybe a little of that surreal emotion he knew would come.