Golden Knights' Mitch Marner excited to 'feel safe' in Vegas

Mitch Marner had a rough end to his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he's recently admitted his family needed full-time security outside of their house after his address was leaked online once the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Marner had been ridiculed by the fan base of Leafs Nation after not showing up when the games matter most. Marner's numbers dropped considerably the past five seasons in games four, five, six, and seven of a playoff series, and unfortunately for him, the fan base, and the organization had enough.

After a failed attempt to trade him for Mikko Rantanen ahead of the deadline, thanks to Marner blocking the deal to stay close to his wife and soon to be infant baby, he got his wish to land with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Marner was dealt for Nicolas Roy, and immediately signed an eight-year contract extension in Vegas. He did a ton of research on what it's like to live and play in Vegas, and was comfortable this was the best decision for himself and his family.

“It’s going to be a new life. I’m really excited for it,” Marner said on Thursday from Hockey Canada's 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp. “Having the newborn now, my wife and I are very social, we like going out for dinners, we like being out with our friends, we like being around our teammates. It was tough to do that in Toronto.

“We’re looking for a new chapter, a new peaceful way of life sort of way, and we're going to enjoy watching our son grow up outside more, too. We’ll have to bring him back (to Toronto) a couple of times in the winter just so he can see the snow, but we’re looking forward to the relaxed side of things for sure.”

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving was asked about Marner's security needs at the GM meetings in Detroit this week, and had this to say. “In our business, your no. 1 priority is looking after your players, and I think we do a really good job of it. I don’t have any concerns that we don’t do everything humanly possible to make sure that they’re looked after, but in today’s world, you never take anything not seriously. In today’s world—and it can go for Toronto, it can go for any market with social media—the lion’s share of people can have good, honest discourse but there’s always the ones that cross the line. It’s unfortunate, but we always take every precaution necessary to make sure our guys are looked after.”