Maple Leafs fans give Mitch Marner an unexpected welcome
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
There was a mixed reaction from Toronto Maple Leafs fans when ex-Leaf Mitch Marner came back to town with the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
Ex-Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner made his long awaited return to Toronto tonight with the Vegas Golden Knights, which is the first time he's been back in Toronto since they lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal last year against the divisional foe Florida Panthers.
Marner heard some boos and jeers from the crowd during warmups, though there were multiple signs along the glass on the Vegas side of the ice expressing thanks to him for his time with the team.
During a break in the first period, the Maple Leafs displayed a tribute video for Marner also thanking him for his time with Toronto. Even though it wasn't nearly as long as Jonathan Toews' recent return to Chicago, the majority of Maple Leafs fans applauded and cheered for Marner during that segment of the game.
Mitch Marner Wants To Move On From Any Talk About The Maple Leafs
Before the game, Marner was the main focus of the media scrum and was repeatedly asked about what kind of reception he thought he'd get and his overall thoughts on returning to Toronto.
He said that even though he was feeling excitement he wants to look forward rather than look back.
We'll see as soon as warm-ups start, but just excited to go back there. That building's meant a lot to me, so excited to be going back to it and playing in it.
Walking into that arena again, going on the other side of things, will be a little odd. But you know, regardless of whatever happens, we're going to have a lot of family and loved ones around. It's going to be really fun to kind of go back there and play that game.....I don't want to look back anymore. I don't want to look in the past. - Mitch Marner
Walking into that arena again, going on the other side of things, will be a little odd. But you know, regardless of whatever happens, we're going to have a lot of family and loved ones around. It's going to be really fun to kind of go back there and play that game.....I don't want to look back anymore. I don't want to look in the past. - Mitch Marner
So far in his first year in a Golden Knights sweater, Marner has 52 points (12G, 40A) in 49 games.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 23|224 ANSWERS Maple Leafs fans give Mitch Marner an unexpected welcome Should Marner have been cheered or booed by Leafs fans? | ||
| Cheered | 153 | 68.3 % |
| Booed | 71 | 31.7 % |
| List of polls | ||