Mitch Marner‘s first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena since departing last off-season was always going to be a big story.
On Friday, the day finally arrived for the Markham, Ont., native to return to the arena in which he spent nine years playing.
“I don’t want to look back anymore, don’t want to look in the past,” Marner told reporters ahead of his return (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ at 7 p.m. ET). “I feel like if you look back, you know, you’ll not focus on what’s in front of you.
“Realistically, it’s just another hockey game.”
For him, perhaps. But for some Maple Leafs fans, it’s the opportunity to vocalize some frustrations with the 28-year-old and how his tenure in Toronto ended.
Some have already had that chance, with a contingent of Leafs Nation making the trek to Vegas earlier this month to serve up a smattering of boos for Marner in his own barn, even as his Golden Knights topped the Maple Leafs in overtime.
Mitch Marner and the Golden Knights visit Toronto for the first time since Marner's move to Vegas. You can watch the game Friday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
To a certain extent, Marner expects boos — he also understands that the passionate Maple Leafs fanbase is part of what makes playing in Toronto so special.
“I’ve always appreciated them. I love what they’ve always brought. Like I said, always passionate and they’re gonna let you know. That’s something you appreciate about it,” Marner said of the fans. “You know they’re probably going to try to do the thing to get me off my game and try to win their game.
“I’ve got a lot of great players around me here to help me out and have been through a couple things like this before. So yeah, I’ll lean on them and, like I said, I’m just going to try to go out there and kind of realize it’s another hockey game.”
Marner got a glimpse of what it was like to be booed by a former team when with the Maple Leafs, watching as former teammate John Tavares made his return to Long Island after leaving as a free agent to a chorus of jeers back in 2019.
“I remember just how calm and collected he was throughout it all,” Marner recalled of that first game. “It didn’t bother him as much as maybe people thought it could have, or tried to do. … I think for me to watch that, and think of it now, (that’s) the same way I’m going to try to go.”
Marner, who spent nine seasons in Toronto, left the Maple Leafs in the off-season in a sign-and-trade deal with the Golden Knights, marking the end of a tumultuous tenure with his hometown team.
Despite tensions with the organization and the fanbase, especially toward the end, Marner said he looks back fondly on his time playing for the team he grew up watching.
“I think if you told my younger self, I wouldn’t believe it,” said Marner. “It was a special thing to wear that Maple Leaf jersey. I always wanted to, and to be able to do it for nine years and be a part of that team and to play in the arena that I grew up trying to go to to watch Mats Sundin and all the legends play, that was pretty cool.
“It’s something I’ll be able to look back on and share with my kids in just how fortunate I was for that.”
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