Mitch Marner Had His Mind Made Up on Vegas Even Earlier Than Thought

Mitch Marner has been at the forefront of discussion in the hockey world over the last week, and that will remain the case for at least another week in the lead-up to his return to Toronto for the first time since leaving for Vegas.

With Marner’s Maple Leafs tenure and eventual departure being revisited ad nauseam, plenty of new nuggets of information have surfaced in the process. One of the more interesting ones came from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, which seems to suggest Marner had his mind set on Vegas well in advance of free agency.

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In his latest column, Simmons detailed that Marner’s parents were reportedly house-shopping in Las Vegas during the Maple Leafs’ Western road trip last March—an indication that Marner not only had his sights set on joining the Golden Knights, but may have already had one foot out the door while still playing out the season—and playoffs—in Toronto.

Simmons wrote:

“Much like the Sundin ending with the Leafs, instead of a first-round pick, they could have gotten the great Mikko Rantanen in a deal for Marner at the trade deadline.

But just as Sundin turned down a trade that would have sent him to Montreal, Marner turned down a deal to Carolina. He wanted to finish the season with the Leafs, which was a disingenuous piece of business. Marner knew he was leaving — he knew, pretty much, that he was heading to Las Vegas. His parents had been down there house-shopping during the Leafs’ last trip west last season.”

The 28-year-old Marner tallied two assists against his former team on Thursday, pushing his season totals up to 49 points (11 goals, 38 assists) in 46 games played. He was dealt to Vegas this summer in exchange for Nicolas Roy via sign-and-trade before quickly inking an eight-year, $96 million extension with the Golden Knights.

Did Looming Departure Affect Mitch Marner?

While it certainly appears Marner had made up his mind midway through the season, his production down the stretch wouldn’t have necessarily suggested it.

Marner racked up 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 21 games to wrap up the campaign, followed by another 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 13 playoff contests.

That said, as was too often the case for Marner and the rest of the Maple Leafs’ core, he dried up when it mattered most—held to just one assist from Games 4 through 7 of their second-round series against the Florida Panthers, which ended in embarrassing fashion.

Regardless, reports like this will only add fuel to the fire when Leafs Nation welcomes the Markham, Ontario, native back to Scotiabank Arena next Friday night—this time as the enemy.

Next: Is Now the Time for Maple Leafs, Others to Pounce on Jason Robertson Trade?