But 90 seconds later, Boston scored to ultimately force overtime. With less than two minutes into the grand finale, David Pastrnak snuck behind Mitch Marner’s back, grabbed the puck that rebounded from the right corner, and shot it into the net, sending the Bruins to the second round and ending Toronto’s postseason dreams.
Once again, Marner could not lead his team to playoff success. Toronto have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, which currently stands as the longest active championship drought in the NHL.
Despite having a scholarship offer to play for the University of Michigan, Marner chose to stay in the OHL and play for the London Knights. The right wing dominated the league and was considered one of the top prospects in the NHL draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Marner fourth overall in 2015.
Rising superstar
Before joining the pros, the Canadian native spent one more year with the Knights, guiding them to the OHL championship. He was named the most outstanding player of the year, taking home the Red Tilson Trophy as he finished the regular season with 116 points in 57 games.
Marner led the playoffs in scoring, tallying 44 points in just 18 games and winning the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP. The Maple Leafs knew they got a gem, a prodigy – they believed they had found a franchise cornerstone, and the future suddenly looked much brighter in Toronto.
After an impressive training camp, Marner made the roster for the upcoming season. He scored his first goal in just his second game while adding his first assist four days later.
The rising star soon formed a dynamic trio with fellow rookies Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Together, they terrorized opponents and became just the second group in NHL history to feature three rookies with at least 60 points in the same season. Over the next few years, they all kept scoring. Producing. But the postseason proved to be Toronto’s nemesis.
Since having Marner and co. on the roster, the Maple Leafs earned a trip to the playoffs every year. Yet they never made it past the second round. First, the franchise believed it was the inexperience of the youth talent. But the seasons went by, and nothing changed.
Marner carried a great deal of responsibility for the failures to advance and heard a lot of blame. After his initial entry-level contract expired, the team signed him to a six-year, $65.408 million deal. The fanbase saw him as a savior, but Marner could not push Toronto over the edge.
“It comes with being one of the highest-paid players on the team. The buck stops with him, so to speak,” said an NHL player who played in Toronto with Marner. “When you have those aspirations as a team, that's always who's going to get the fingers pointed at them when things fall short.”
Game 7 struggles
It was not just that Toronto kept losing in the playoffs - it was how they lost. Since 2018, Toronto has competed in six Game 7 contests - do-or-die scenarios. They lost them all. When the pressure was highest, Toronto could not find a way through. Four of those defeats came by multiple goals. Only two were decided by a single goal, including a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay in 2022 and the overtime defeat against Boston two years later.
The criticism came from all directions. Some pointed to Marner's goal production in the playoffs. Others focused on his performances in elimination games or comments that occasionally rubbed fans the wrong way. With every postseason collapse, the narrative grew stronger: Marner was not cut out for this. He is not championship material. Yet, he continued producing elite numbers, including a 102-point season with 27 goals and 75 assists.
Over time, the negativity became unbearable. Marner said that the constant criticism was “a real mental grind,” affecting him physically as well. Fans regularly littered his backyard. After Toronto lost Game 7 last year to the Florida Panthers 6-1, his home address was doxed and his family had full-time security for weeks.
“The market’s very passionate. They love the team. I was born and raised there. I’ve been a part of the Leafs Nation for a long time,” Marner said. “But when your family’s safety comes into question, especially having a new son, I don’t think it’s acceptable.”
Time for something new
In the summer of 2025 - after enduring another postseason heartbreak - Marner turned into an unrestricted free agent, ultimately choosing not to extend his stint with the Maple Leafs. Stating it was “time for a new chapter in life,” he was preparing to land a new destination. But Toronto did not just want to let him go. Before he entered free agency, they struck a sign-and-trade deal.
Marner’s new team: the Vegas Golden Knights. They signed the 28-year-old forward to an eight-year, $96 million contract. In return for Marner, the Maple Leafs received forward Nicolas Roy.
“It was unexpected in a way, we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Marner said. “My agent called, we got the word on Friday night something might be going down with Vegas and Toronto and how that might feel with my wife and I. This was a spot very high on my list, we wanted to come here, and I went back to my agent said I’m open to doing this.”
Just like that, the star found a new home. And magic started happening instantly. Despite Marner having a below-average regular season - he recorded 80 points in 81 games - the team chemistry was undeniable. The team was operating like a well-oiled machine, marching to the playoffs as the No.1 seed in the Pacific Division.
Same player, different environment
The real proof of his greatness came in the postseason. So far, he has seven goals and 14 assists = collecting 21 points in 16 games, and more importantly, leading Vegas to the Stanley Cup Finals. Marner played a critical role in the Western Conference Finals, helping the Golden Knights sweep the Colorado Avalanche. The glow-up can be seen from miles away. Yet, the forward refuses to get into detail on why things work in Vegas but didn’t work in Toronto.
“I feel like I just want to go out there and play my game. I feel like I’ve been doing that for a while. I know probably people think the results weren’t coming in the past. Sometimes that’s what happens. I just try to go out there and do the thing I do,” said Marner.
It just all might be about the right fit. In Toronto, Marner couldn't meet the impossible expectations placed upon him. Over time, he became the face of the franchise's failures. No matter how productive he was, it never seemed enough. Then he arrived in Vegas, and everything changed. He went from hatred to a playoff MVP candidate. And possibly a Stanley Cup winner.
“He seems much more relaxed. When he talks, just his shoulders are kind of down and he's relaxed,” said a former NHL player, Jeff O’Neal. “He’s able to just be himself. He gets in the car and goes to a gas station on the way home, and nobody bothers him. Life is grand.”
It could have been a heck of a story for Toronto. Marner was born and raised in Markham - a Toronto suburb. He grew up a Leafs fan, running around wearing Doug Gilmour’s jersey. Imagine the narrative: A few years later, the local kid gets drafted by an original six franchise he dearly loves. The hometown hero is destined to run the city. Bring Toronto the coveted Stanley Cup. Spend his career there, inspiring the next generations. But it never happened.
That doesn't mean Marner was never destined to be a superstar - or even a champion. It may simply mean he was not meant to become one in Toronto.
Some stories are not meant to be perfect. Marner’s certainly has not been. But now he has an opportunity to write his happy ending - and prove that, in the right environment, he was always capable of success.