Mitch Marner Needed To Get Out Of Toronto | Defector

Mitch Marner has been producing high-level hockey for the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs, including a sequence that created a one-timer setup and a breakaway between-the-legs goal. He previously played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in nine straight playoff appearances, but his current postseason run feels different because Toronto has not advanced as far since 2002. Marner’s output with Vegas includes seven goals and twelve assists in thirteen appearances, far exceeding his earlier Leafs scoring rate. Vegas’s roster-building approach brings talented players from difficult situations into a more competitive environment, which can be both marketable and personally relieving.

"Marner is no stranger to the playoffs, appearing for the Leafs in nine straight until he signed a fat new contract with Vegas last offseason. This year, however, feels totally different, because he isn't playing for a franchise that consistently blows it in the early rounds. By stepping on the ice for the Western Conference Final, Marner made it farther into the postseason than Toronto has since 2002, and if Vegas pulls off the upset against the Avs, he'll be playing for a Cup that the Leafs haven't had the opportunity to win since 1967. From a competitive standpoint alone, Vegas made sense."

"Marner is killing it in these playoffs, after he took a sun's worth of heat for failing to produce in potential Leafs clinchers. Marner's seven goals in 13 appearances for Vegas so far (plus 12 assists) steamrolls his Leafs rate of 13 goals in 70 games. And as great as his assist in Denver was on Wednesday, no play from the postseason's leading point-getter (or maybe anybody) was cooler than his breakaway 180 between-the-legs goal to jumpstart Vegas's Game 6 win over the Ducks last round."

"Whether it's Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Tomáš Hertl, or now Marner, the Golden Knights love to take a talented player in a frustrating situation and let him taste a new level of competitive hockey. They don't do this for altruistic reasons-in a desert city saturated with entertainment, it helps to be able to market your hockey team with an all-star lineup-but I could imagine it being relieving for someone like Marner to come to Sin City after the"

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