I couldn't help but notice a small thing during Mitch Marner's introductory press conference with the Vegas Golden Knights. It said, "Ignore the naysayers," a quote attributed to the winger's rough divorce from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
There is some truth to this, you know. Las Vegas media has much more of a homebody feel than Toronto media. When they're not worshipping Connor McDavid's every move, they're busy lambasting Marner for canceled charity events. Las Vegas would never!
Also, when you go from this...
...To this...
...You want to run through a brick wall. It's even more telling when you're at your press conference and one of the quotes is, "Ignore the naysayers." Hmm, it feels like some foreshadowing is being put into play here.
You see, Eichel faced the same criticism from Buffalo Sabres fans before being traded to the Golden Knights in November 2021. Fans might've gotten a quick laugh when Vegas missed the playoffs in 2021-22. However, those laughs were washed away by the former second overall pick's postseason performance (six goals and 20 assists).
Still, the precautionary tale of bashing Eichel hasn't stopped some Maple Leafs fans from slamming the three-time All-Star's move to Las Vegas.
With that, let's look at when the superstar center left Buffalo for the Las Vegas lights. That way, we can see what fans got wrong with the 4 Nations Face-Off representative and see how Marner can make the most of a similar situation.
Jack Eichel's time after the Buffalo Sabres
Currently, Jack Eichel is undergoing negotiations for a lucrative contract extension with the Golden Knights. This past season, he scored 26 goals and 94 points in a career-altering campaign, making him one of the league's best players. But how he got here is a different story.
If you recall, Eichel was set to have an artificial disk replacement surgery after suffering a herniated disc. The Sabres, in their typical playoff-missing fashion, were like...
"NO! We prefer traditional spinal fusion! No artificial disk replacement for you!"
This led to all sorts of drama, including the former first-round pick being stripped of his candidacy after a failed physical. That also led to Sabres fans turning on him like Hulk Hogan turning on Randy Savage (or anybody else in real life), calling him all sorts of names.
"OMG, HE'S SO TOXIC! I CAN'T STAND HIM!"
"I hAtE jAcK eIcHeL!"
Lo and behold, he gets offloaded to the Golden Knights in a franchise-altering trade. Bill Foley, in all of his goodness and gracefulness, allows his newest superstar to undergo artificial disc replacement surgery. The rest, as they say, is history.
Mitch Marner has the perfect chance to learn from Eichel
Now, I would suspect that the Maple Leafs are a better organization than the Sabres. Unlike Buffalo, they've made the playoffs every season since 2017. Of course, being better than Buffalo is one of the lowest bars you can clear.
However, the mentality is similar. Toronto can't seem to get past the second round and even struggles to get out of the first round. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights don't have a Stanley Cup dating back to the Lyndon B. Johnson years. Instead, they won it all in 2023 with Mark Stone looking as "Presidential" as ever.
For Marner, he has a chance to move on from past failures with a new franchise. He can carve his name into the annals of Golden Knights history and win Las Vegas another Stanley Cup.
Sue, some people will point at past playoff failures and say he disappears when called upon. However, the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs were actually good to Marner. He scored two goals and 11 assists in 13 games, bringing the Maple Leafs within a game of knocking off the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
Ironically, that's the same criticism that Vegas's resident superstar faced when he arrived. It was the same "cancerous" accusations that plagued the young superstar. I wonder how that Eichel guy is doing nowadays?
You know what they say, Mitch. Ignore the naysayers.