There is sure to be a mixed reaction among Toronto Maple Leafs fans as former Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who now plays for the Vegas Golden Knights, was selected to play for Canada next month in Milano Cortina at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Marner, who the Leafs drafted in 2015, 4th overall, had nine productive seasons in Toronto, where, as part of the so- called 'core four', this elite playmaker produced 221 goals and 741 points in 657 games until last summer when he became a Golden Knight.
Following last season, Marner, who was an unrestricted free agent, took the brunt of some heavy criticism on social media from fans and different Toronto media outlets for the team's disappointing early playoff exit against the Florida Panthers. For the past several years, Marner has taken a lot of blame for the team's playoff failures, and he decided it was time to move on.
Marner agreed on a sign and trade scenario when, back on June 30th, he agreed and signed with the Leafs an eight-year $96 million-dollar contract before being sent to the Golden Knights in exchange for rugged forward Nicolas Roy.
In terms of social media and the demands of playing in Toronto, Marner stated,
"For all the negative comments out there, you know there's so many love comments. The problem is that the love comments don't come out as much as the hatred ones, and that's just the way life goes, and that's the way social media has turned in a way."
According to Marner's agent Darren Ferris, some fans even threw things into his yard, and he even received death threats.
Last February, Marner showed Leafs fans that he can deliver in the clutch as he produced a goal and three points in helping Canada win gold at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Marner's signature moment came during Canada's 3-2 OT Gold Medal win against the USA when, at the six-minute mark of the second period, he drew a key assist on the tying goal from Sam Bennett, which at the time made it a 2-2 game.
Following a scoreless third period, Marner once again made his mark when at 1:42 of overtime, with the 4 Nations Face-Off Gold Medal on the line, he set up Connor McDavid with the tournament winning goal.
Marner has quite a bit of international experience, having played for Canada at the 2014 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships and in 2017, the Ice Hockey World Championship.
John Tavares snubbed from Team Canada
Unfortunately for Leafs fans, they didn't see veteran forward John Tavares make the team.
Last season, Tavares put up some solid numbers during the year in finishing with 37 goals and 74 points, but didn't make Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
This season, Leafs fans were hoping and it looked like he had a great chance when he got off to a solid start by scoring 11 goals and 23 points in 18 games. Playing in his 17th season, Tavares has scored this year 15 goals along with 37 points but was always considered to be on the bubble.
This will be the first time NHL players have participated in the Olympics since 2014 when Canada defeated Sweden 3-0 to win their second consecutive Olympic Gold Medal.