What to know
- Former Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner returned to Scotiabank Arena for the first time since his move to Las Vegas on Friday night.
- Leafs fans offered Marner a hot and cold welcome, with a standing ovation and boo’ing.
- This is the last time the Leafs face the Golden Knights this regular season.
Mitch Marner returned to Toronto for the first time since his move to Las Vegas Friday night, prompting mixed reactions from fans.
Prior to last night’s game, there were questions surrounding how Marner would be received in Scotiabank Arena after he was booed by Leafs fans in Sin City last Thursday. It was the Leafs’ first match against the Vegas Golden Knights since Marner’s departure last summer.
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“I’m excited for tonight,” Marner told reporters before he hit the ice.
When asked what kind of reception he was expecting, Marner said he wasn’t sure.
“I’ll see as soon as warm up starts. … That building’s meant a lot to me, so I’m excited to be going back to play in it.”
Vegas had a strong first period with two goals. Despite the fight put up by Toronto in the second, the game ended in a 6-3 win for the Golden Knights.
Marner, drafted fourth overall, joined the Leafs’ roster in 2015. He played with the team for nine seasons before joining the Golden Knights for the 2025-26 season – a decision that some fans have yet to recover from.
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Tribute to Marner receives standing ovation
The Leafs paid their respects to their former teammate with a tribute that played on the jumbotron during a stoppage in first period. It depicted Marner as a former Maple Leaf and an active member of the community, prompting a standing ovation.
@nowtoronto Mitch #Marner ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
“I really appreciate the love and the support,” Marner said of the tribute following the game. “I was trying to take it in and not get emotional.”
During his tenure in Toronto, Marner kickstarted the Marner Assist Foundation in 2018 through which he works to improve the lives of children and young adults.
Natasha Borota, president of The It Factor – a Toronto-based company that manages the foundation – was at the game and tells Now Toronto she was “very proud.”
“It was really beautiful,” Borota says. “To see that people see [Marner’s philanthropy] and respect it.”
However, Leafs fans did not go easy on Marner for the rest of the game as many started booing him before he even touched a puck.
“They’re very passionate fans here in Toronto,” Borota says. “[But] it hurts us too … because we know what a kind person he is.”
Hockey fans react to Marner’s reception
Online, hockey fans are divided on the way the Leafs fans received Marner last night, with many calling it classless and misguided while others say it was justified.
“Leafs fans have no class!!” an X user wrote. “Booing Marner, who gave his heart and soul to that organization, doesn’t deserve this!!! I look forward to the Mayor of Las Vegas enacting a Mitch Marner day so that he knows he’s RESPECTED.”
“You’re mad he exercised the rights within the contract the organization offered to him?” a Reddit user wrote.
“I would have boo’ed, then found closure and cheered for the video tribute, then forgot that I found closure and boo’ed the rest of the game… then I would have complete closure,” a Reddit user wrote.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are not scheduled to face the Golden Knights again for the rest of the regular season. Their next game is against the Colorado Avalanche on home ice, tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. EST.
