Mitch Marner was able to share his side of the story for the first time since deciding to leave his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs and go sign with the Vegas Golden Knights this summer. And he made it clear which former teammate was the toughest to say goodbye to.
In a sitdown interview with TSN's Mark Masters that went over a variety of topics -- mainly why Marner decided to leave Toronto and what his experience has been for the last year or so leading up to his departure -- but one that was almost immediately addressed was which now former teammate was the most difficult to tell that he was leaving.
"We loved being in Toronto full time and being close to family and friends, but we just thought it was time for a new chapter in life"
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 29, 2025
Mitch Marner on his departure from Toronto. pic.twitter.com/B9VzeGlw24
"Obviously, the phone call to Auston. That was a tough one," Marner said. "He had to get back to Arizona quickly after the season. I was going to try to get a sit-down with him before, but it just didn't pan out.
"That phone call to him was pretty tough. It was pretty emotional. We came in together, we did a lot of things together. Saying bye to Morgan (Rielly) as well, JT, and Willy. All those guys, especially us three (Matthews, Nylander, Marner), came in together and grew together. The market was tough to all of us at times and we had to lean on each other and it was tough calling those guys. It sucked."
It is true. We see it all around the league with players that come into the same team as the franchise's saviours. Crosby and Malkin, Hedman and Stamkos -- these players rarely separate (okay bad example in Tampa because Stamkos did leave the Lightning) and if they do it sends a massive shockwave through the organization.
For Marner's nine years as a Maple Leaf, Matthews and Nylander were right there battling through the same problems. There was some criticism from the media, going through coaching changes, having supplementary teammates leave the team and new ones come in -- just the ups and downs that they all experienced, they experienced together.
But now it's gone and the trio has been broken up for a variety of reasons.
Matthews and Marner will get their time to reconnect in the future, though. The Maple Leafs first travel to go visit Marner's Golden Knights on January 15 this season, and then just several days later, the Leafs will host Vegas on January 23. So, they'll get to be together once again, if not catching up before then.