A new report around the NHL suggests Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs may have Brad Marchand’s Florida Panthers to blame for the trade that sent Mitch Marner away to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The offseason frenzy never truly stops in The Six. After trading Marner off to Las Vegas, it’s time for Matthews and company to put the matter behind them. However, that’s way easier said than done. If that’s too difficult to fathom, then a report suggests placing the blame on Marchand and the Panthers.
“My position is this, if they beat Florida in the second round… I don’t see how Mitch Marner isn’t in Toronto,” insider Elliotte Friedman commented on the 32 Thoughts podcast.
How different would things have turned out if the Maple Leafs had prevailed over the Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? If Toronto had gone on to lose in the Eastern Conference Final or Stanley Cup Final, would Marner have re-signed with the Buds? Was it truly championship-or-bust for Marner? It’s impossible to tell and will remain forever a mystery.
Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena.
What could’ve been?
While some fans find relief in the fact that Toronto put up the biggest fight against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, others still ache when remembering the series. The Leafs had the Panthers against the ropes—and even forward Anton Lundell admitted as much.
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“Obviously, they were such a good team, like, it was a hard series,” Lundell said, via 32 Thoughts. “I mean, they were up in Game 3, 3-1 in the second or something, and when we won that game, that was the game-changer. We were like, ‘Okay, now it’s our time to press the gas, now we go.’ But I got to say, if we were to lose that game, it could’ve been a different series for sure.“
Once again, the Leafs have former Bruins captain Brad Marchand to thank for that. The veteran winger didn’t leave his antagonism toward Toronto back in Boston—he’s still tormenting them with the Cats. Marchand buried the overtime winner in Game 3, swinging momentum Florida’s way and sparing them from a 0-3 hole.
Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers speaks with media ahead of Stanley Cup Final.
Start fresh
Watching Marner walk out was a sight no one in Toronto was truly ready for. Still, it felt as though the Leafs had been bracing for that day to arrive for a long time. They learned one thing, nevertheless: no matter how prepared you think you are, it always hits closer to home when it finally comes.
On that note young talent Matthew Knies voiced an honest statement on his feelings, as the 2025-26 NHL season looms closer, and Marner is nowhere to be seen in Toronto.
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“It’ll be a bit different without Mitch, but the acquisitions we’ve made have been looking good,” Knies stated, per The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby. “I don’t know what we’ll put together at the start of the season, but we have a lot of great players on our team. Any way that Brad Treliving and Craig Berube decide to do it, hopefully we find a formula that works and gives us long-term success.”
