After the Vegas Golden Knights reached the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, their GM Kelly McCrimmon took a shot at the Toronto Maple Leafs fans for winger Mitch Marner. The 65-year-old said that the Leafs fans should move on from their ex-player Marner after he left them and joined the Golden Knights ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Marner was involved in a sign-and-trade deal worth $96 million for eight years to join Vegas from Toronto on June 30 last year in exchange for Nicolas Roy. The deal was struck between the two franchises just hours before the Canadian was slated to join free agency on July 1.

“I know it’s Toronto. I know it’s Mitch Marner. I know it’s polarizing. But for me, it’s a little bit about the guy’s ex-girlfriend moving away and doing well. At some point, you've got to get over it,” McCrimmon said while appearing on TSN’s OverDrive sports talk show.

McCrimmon also spoke about Marner’s value for the Golden Knights and the mindset of the star player going into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in his NHL career.

“He’s a good person. He’s a great teammate. He’s really well liked, well respected by his team. He’s happy. So that’s what we’re dealing with,” the Golden Knights GM remarked.

Notably, during his nine NHL seasons in Toronto from the summer of 2016 to 2025, Marner competed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on nine straight occasions. But despite that, he and the Maple Leafs were never able to go past the second round of the playoffs and won only two series in total.

Although with the Golden Knights, the 29-year-old not only went past the second round but also won the conference final for the first time. He also contributed immensely to the success of Vegas in the playoffs, registering a career-high 21 points (7G / 14A) in 16 games while leading the overall charts.

Mitch Marner opens up on ‘dark times in hockey’ as Golden Knights reach Stanley Cup final

The Vegas Golden Knights swept the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final Series with a 2-1 win in Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 26.

In the postgame interview backstage, Mitch Marner called it a “special moment” before stating how his loved ones helped him overcome some “dark times in hockey” before his recent success.

"There's been some dark times in hockey for myself, honestly. Thankful for my family, my brother, my mom and dad, my wife, and all my friends around me. That was a moment just to express some joy and some fun,” he said.

Earlier in the night, just after competing in Game 4 against the Avalanche, Marner gave an interview to Shawn McKenzie of Sportsnet on the ice. When McKenzie asked him about the “dark moments” in his hockey career, he mentioned dealing with some “mental stuff.”

“You've gotta have people around you that are amazing and love you... people I've worked with through mental stuff. It's never a one-man battle,” said Marner.

Will Mitch Marner win the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career this year after going through such ups and downs? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Ankita Yadav