Craig Berube didn’t sound like a coach trying to soften the blow when he talked about Mitch Marner. He sounded like someone who knew exactly what the Maple Leafs lost when the winger left.
Berube said Marner was more than just a top-line talent in Toronto. He described him as the player who set the tone every night, both in games and at practice.
“Oh Mitch Marner for sure. Yeah.
I thought Mitch was the energy and he brought the energy and the emotion to the game, I thought, on a nightly basis and in practice. You know, vocal guy, chatted a lot on the bench, chatted a lot at practice, brought the energy.
If he came back to the bench, he let guys know, ‘Pick it up, let’s go.’ He was great.
I really enjoyed coaching him.
I thought we lost our emotional leader for sure,”
That’s a pretty direct assessment of what Toronto was missing last season, a year that went off the rails for the Maple Leafs. Whether Marner’s departure was the main reason for that collapse is up for debate, but Berube’s comments make it clear the absence was felt far beyond the box score.
Marner, now 28, was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade last June before signing an eight-year, $96 million extension. He delivered 80 points in 81 regular-season games, with 24 goals and 56 assists, then added 29 points in 22 playoff games, scoring 10 times and setting up 19 more.
For Toronto, the sting isn’t just losing a player who was routinely good for 90-plus points and strong in his own end. It’s also what came back. The Maple Leafs received Nicolas Roy, then turned him into a conditional first-round pick and a fifth-round pick.
That’s something, but it doesn’t exactly erase the feeling of what slipped away. Looking back, it’s hard not to wonder how different things might have been if Toronto had moved Marner earlier and used a bigger return to shake up a core that clearly needed a jolt.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Opening Knight Debate Just Got A Lot More Interesting
The NHL has already put a date on the calendar for the 2026-27 schedule release, and that alone is enough to get the conversation started around who the Golden Knights might see on Opening Night. Around the league, there are a handful of logical candidates, and Vegas has no shortage of possible draws depending on whether the league wants a regional matchup, a heavyweight showdown, or a game with a little extra edge right out of the gate.
San Jose, Edmonton, Carolina and New York all make some sense on paper for different reasons, which is exactly why the debate has picked up so quickly. The Sharks bring a familiar Pacific Division angle, the Oilers offer star power and recent high-end drama, and the Hurricanes and Rangers each carry the kind of profile that can make a season opener feel bigger than a single game. None of it is official yet, of course, but the list is enough to keep the speculation lively until the schedule drops. [Read more 🡒]