Mitch Marner broke his silence on how his time as a Toronto Maple Leaf ended after the 2024-25 NHL season didn’t finish how he or the team wanted.
The 28 year old spoke with TSN’s Mark Masters in an interview published Thursday from Hockey Canada’s orientation camp.
“We lose Game 7 as we do in [the most] non-enjoyable way of all time probably,” Marner said of Toronto’s 6-1 blowout loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Round 2. “You know, [you] get home, you’re pretty disappointed, you’re pretty devastated at that. You know, the thought also of it being my last Maple Leaf game at home.”
Maple Leafs fans displeased with a ninth consecutive season without an Eastern Conference Finals appearance took their disdain to a deplorable level shortly after Marner returned home. He described how his family required protection immediately after the team’s playoff run ended.
“My wife’s father calls me and goes, ‘I just want to let you know, we’ve got people sending us screenshots of a guy posting your address online saying that if people want to come pay us a visit and say, you know, their goodbyes, in a quotation way, here’s the address,'” Marner said. “It was a little tough, obviously. I mean, we kind of dealt with it for the last two years in a way. The market’s very passionate. They love the team. I mean, I know it. I was born and raised there. I’ve been a part of the Leafs Nation for a long time. But when your family’s safety comes into question, especially having a new son, I don’t think it’s acceptable.
“Having full-time security, pretty much, at your house for two weeks after the playoffs just to make sure no one’s coming to the house. Also the safety of trying to walk your dog or child so that was a little unfortunate.”
Marner’s agent, Darren Ferris, told the “100% Hockey” podcast on Monday some fans actually followed through on those “goodbyes.”
“We had people throwing stuff in his yard,” he told hosts Daren Millard and John Shannon. “There was another occasion where there was a death threat, and we traced it to a kid in Oakville, Ontario.”
On June 30, a little over a month after the Maple Leafs crashed out of the playoffs, Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights after contract negotiations stalled with Toronto. He signed an eight-year, $96 million extension as a part of the deal.
“We just decided it was time for a new chapter,” Marner told Masters. “We loved being in Toronto full time and being close to family and friends, but we just thought it was time for a new chapter in life, and having Miles, our son, we wanted to look at other options and see what was out there. We found one we really liked.”
Marner made it known he was appreciative of the support he received from fans while in Toronto but the hate was “a real mental grind” late in his Maple Leaf tenure.
“For all the negative comments out there, you know there’s so many love comments,” he explained to Masters. “The problem is that the love comments don’t come out as much as the hatred ones, and that’s just the way life goes, and that’s the way the social media has turned into in a way.”
Marner finished with 741 points (221g, 520a) in nine seasons with the Maple Leafs but the team only won two playoff series in that time. It’s something he regrets didn’t turn out differently despite how much talent shared the locker room with him.
“I’m forever grateful to be a Maple Leaf and wear that crest on my chest for nine years,” Marner said. “I mean, I tried to give everything I had for those nine years and, you know, it sucks that we weren’t able to get it done.”
The goodbyes to his teammates were difficult, specifically linemate Auston Matthews who he lamented not being able to speak to in person before heading to Vegas.
“The phone call to Auston that was a tough one,” he recounted. “I was going to try to get a sit down with him before, but it just didn’t pan out with everything happening. It was pretty emotional. Obviously, we came in together, we did a lot of things together.”
The Maple Leafs will welcome Marner back on January 23 when the Golden Knights travel to Toronto for the second leg of a back-to-back that begins in Boston.
“They didn’t plan that one well,” Marner joked of the NHL schedule. “I would’ve liked [it] to be one day in Toronto.”
