Life hasn't been easy for Mitch Marner this summer. Sure, he's got a brand-new eight-year, $12 million AAV deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, some people feel like they've been... betrayed.
After losing Game 7 to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, the newest Golden Knights winger revealed some awful behavior from the Maple Leafs' faithful in an interview with TSN's Mark Masters. In fact, his father-in-law showed a disturbing pattern that invaded Marner's privacy.
"He goes, 'I just want to let you know, we've got people sending us screenshots of a guy posting your address online saying that if people want to come pay us a visit and say, you know, their goodbyes, in a quotation way, here's the address.' And it was a little tough, obviously. I mean, we kind of dealt with it for the last two years in a way. The market's very passionate. They love the team. I mean, I know it. But, yeah, when your family's safety comes into question, especially having a new son, I don't think it's acceptable."Mitch Marner to TSN
It didn't stop there, though. Some crazy fans even resorted to throwing stuff in the former "Core Four" member's yard.
"We had people throwing stuff in his [Marner's] yard. There was another occasion where there was a death threat and we traced it to a kid in Oakville, Ontario."Darren Ferris to TSN
Some people need to chill out
Toronto Maple Leafs fans acted like LeBron James left Ontario to take his talents to Sin City after he signed with the Golden Knights.
Look, man. I get it. It's tough to regroup when one of your favorite players leaves town.
However, that doesn't mean that you can simply send death threats to an NHL player. Throwing stuff and sending letters threatening a player's livelihood doesn't justify matters in any sense. In fact, it makes you look like a complete idiot for doing so.
Sure, Montreal Canadiens will laugh and point at you while saying, "See what I have to deal with on a daily basis?" But NHL players are human, too. Marner just had a newborn son and losing him would've been extremely detrimental to his family.
That even goes for a person like LeBron, who's probably the biggest goober on the planet. Athletes have goals and aspirations in life and they want to be treated with dignity and respect.
The TSN interview reveals why Vegas Golden Knights fans will treat him well
The wonderful thing about being a successful team right out the shoot is that you don't have as much pressure as a market starved for a Stanley Cup. You don't have constant media attention on you and you know what the expectations are.
Sure, fans will eventually expect you to consistently carry that winning tradition annually. But it's better than, say, not having a Stanley Cup since 1967. That's what Maple Leafs fans are dealing with and it's driving them crazy.
C-R-A-Z-Y.
All of this justifies Marner's reasoning for joining the Golden Knights. The front office has established a firm culture since "Day F*****g One," making them the envy of the NHL. In turn, it's led to two Stanley Cup Final appearances, a Stanley Cup, and playoff appearances in every season except 2021-22.
Maybe it's not so hard imagining why Marner left, after all.