Not winning a Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs will probably bother right winger Mitch Marner for the rest of his career.
Marner admitted he wishes he had done more to help the Maple Leafs end their 58-year Stanley Cup drought after they traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
“When I was drafted, all I wanted to do was help bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto. That was always the goal, and I came up short,” Marner said in a statement posted to his Instagram story Tuesday (h/t Bleacher Report). “I know how much this team means to this city, and I know the expectations that come with wearing this jersey. I gave everything I had, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. That’s hard to admit because, I wanted it so badly for all of us.”
Marner, 28, established himself as a star after the Maple Leafs took him with the No. 4 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He recorded 741 points (221 goals and 520 assists) in nine seasons with Toronto, the fifth most in franchise history, and was selected to three All-Star Games.
However, postseason success has eluded him throughout his career. Marner made the playoffs in all nine of his seasons with Toronto but never reached the Eastern Conference Final. This past season, the Florida Panthers eliminated the Maple Leafs in seven games in the second round and went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
Despite the playoff failures, Marner wrote, “Leaving [the franchise] isn’t easy” and he thanked his hometown team for making his “childhood dream” come true.
Marner — who signed an eight-year, $96M deal before being traded — now has a solid shot at winning his first Stanley Cup in Vegas. As of Tuesday, FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Golden Knights +950 odds to win the championship, the NHL’s sixth best.
But even if Marner wins a title in Vegas, there will likely be a part of him that wishes he did the same in Toronto.