Mitch Marner on Maple Leafs exit: ‘Leaving isn’t easy’

Mitch Marner issued an emotional farewell to Toronto on Tuesday, the same day his hometown Maple Leafs officially confirmed he had been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
“Leaving isn’t easy. This city is where I grew up, where I fell in love with hockey, and where I’ve had the incredible honour of living out my childhood dream,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Wearing the Maple Leaf on my chest wasn’t just about playing for a team, it was about representing my home.”
The Maple Leafs acquired forward Nicolas Roy in exchange for Marner, who signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with Toronto as part of the trade before heading to Vegas.
Marner, 28, was seen as the No. 1 player in the upcoming unrestricted free agent class. He has spent his entire nine-year NHL career in Toronto, which selected him fourth overall in the 2015 draft.
He said he leaves Toronto with unfulfilled goals.
“When I was drafted, all I wanted was to help bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto,” he said. “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 came 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.”
He has career totals of 221 goals and 520 assists (741 points) in 657 games and is coming off a career year that saw him total personal bests of 75 assists and 102 points in 81 games.
The 28-year-old Roy had 15 goals and 16 assists in 71 games last season. Over the course of his eight-year career with the Carolina Hurricanes and Golden Knights, he has accrued 68 goals and 98 assists in 369 games.
The Leafs also confirmed the re-signing of fellow forward Matthew Knies on Tuesday. They kept Knies from entering free agency by signing him to a six-year contract extension worth $46.5 million.
Knies, 22, was due to become a restricted free agent on Tuesday. The new deal has an average annual value of $7.75 million.
Knies has played two full seasons with Toronto, posting career highs in 2024-25 with 58 points (29 goals, 29 assists), 152 shots on goal, 41 blocks and 182 hits in 78 regular-season games.
For his career, Knies has 44 goals, 50 assists, 73 blocks and 353 hits in 161 games since Toronto selected him in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft.