Mitch Marner Needed To Get Out Of Toronto

I can't claim that it's surprising to see Mitch Marner playing excellent hockey for a Stanley Cup contender, but it does still feel like a novelty. When Marner entered the attacking zone with the Golden Knights up 1-0, cut waaay to his right, and then salvaged the play with a one-timer set-up back to Pavel Dorofeyev, all I could think about was how much it must hurt to be watching from Toronto.

https://youtu.be/gENZH-gJn5A?si=OLn1bY-fbNVSPDuZ&t=276

Marner is no stranger to the playoffs, appearing for the Leafs in nine straight until he signed a fat new contract with Vegas last offseason. This year, however, feels totally different, because he isn't playing for a franchise that consistently blows it in the early rounds. By stepping on the ice for the Western Conference Final, Marner made it further into the postseason than Toronto has since 2002, and if Vegas pulls off the upset against the Avs, he'll be playing for a Cup that the Leafs haven't had the opportunity to win since 1967. From a competitive standpoint alone, Vegas made sense.