The Maple Leafs held a full morning skate at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday.
—
After spending the first nine seasons of his career playing for his hometown team, Mitch Marner will face the Toronto Maple Leafs for the very first time on Thursday.
“I don’t think I got to look at it any different,” the Golden Knights forward told reporters after scoring in Vegas’ overtime win in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. “Just look at it as another hockey game. Just try to go out there and do my thing.”
Marner’s old friends in the Leafs dressing room are also doing their best to downplay this much-anticipated reunion.
“It will obviously be a little bit different but, at the end of the day, it’s a hockey game,” said centre Auston Matthews. “It’s a good team on the other side, and we’re looking to get back on track ourselves, so it’s an important one.”
“I mean, it’s just another game, really,” said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. “We’ll see [what it’s like] once we get out there, but we’re not thinking about it much.”
“It will be a little different but, I mean, everyone has been through the league and changes happen every year,” said centre John Tavares. “Not the first time we’re playing against a former player.”
Of course, Marner is not just a former player. He is the sixth-leading scorer in franchise history, who became a popular teammate and polarizing figure in the centre of the hockey universe.
“He was a big part of things here and you develop a close relationship,” Tavares said. “But we’re obviously in the midst of a grind here in January, a lot of games, and a lot of key points and things that are important for us to focus on.”
‘Just do my thing’: Marner maintains focus ahead of first game against Leafs ‘brothers’ Mitch Marner will face the Leafs for the first time on Thursday in Las Vegas. “I don’t think I got to look at it any different,” the Golden Knight winger said. “Just look at it as another hockey game. I just try to go out there and do my thing.”
Matthews, Rielly and winger William Nylander were teammates with Marner for all nine of his seasons in Toronto. Tavares was teammates with Marner for seven years.
“I’ve checked in with them throughout the year,” Marner told reporters. “I’m still, obviously, very good buddies with a lot of them. I checked in with them just to see how they’re doing, how their families are doing, talk to them over Christmas and the holidays. Like I said, got really close with a lot of them there and like brothers. But, yeah, it hasn’t been too much talk about hockey, really.”
Marner is playing in a different time zone and the schedule this season is condensed because of the Olympics, so there isn’t much time to catch up.
“He reached out when I scored my 500th [goal] and I reached out to him once the Olympic team was announced,” said Tavares. “Other than that, not really [much contact] over the last number of weeks.”
Marner reached out to Matthews when he broke the Leafs franchise goals record earlier this month.
“We definitely keep in touch a pretty decent amount,” Matthews said. “He’s always going to be a really close friend.”
Leafs share how strange it will be facing Marner for the first time The Leafs share how strange it will be facing Mitch Marner for the first time since he was sent to the Golden Knights in the summer in a sign-and-trade, and explain how it’s been adjustment playing without the superstar this season.
—
Matthews and Marner factored on the same goal 268 times during their nine seasons together, which is the most by any duo in Leafs history.
“Matty and him played together for a long time,” said Leafs coach Craig Berube. “I mean there’s always an adjustment.”
Matthews got off to a slow start this season relative to his lofty standards, but the Arizona native downplayed the idea that he needed time to adapt to life without Marner.
“I didn’t play with him my whole, entire time here,” Matthews stressed. “So, I mean, there’s always adjustments when you’re playing with different guys.”
Matthews is heating up since Christmas with eight goals and six assists in nine games. He’s holding onto pucks more, which is helping.
“I think confidence can have a lot to do with that,” Matthews said. “I think over the last month or so, I just felt like I’ve had the puck a lot in the middle of the ice where I want it with speed.”
Have the Leafs finally adjusted to life without Marner? TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button and TSN Hockey analyst Jamie McLennan join Domino’s That’s Hockey to share how they would grade Mitch Marner’s first half of the season with the Golden Knights, and if they feel the Leafs have finally adjusted to life without Marner.
—
Knights coach Bruce Cassidy is planning to boost Marner’s ice time a bit on Thursday despite the back-to-back situation.
“We’ll use them like we usually do, and hopefully get him a few extra shifts here and there, because I’m sure he’s going to be highly motivated,” the Golden Knights coach told reporters. “But sometimes it goes the other way and you want to do too much. Hopefully he just goes out and plays this game.”
Cassidy urged Marner to check in with Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, who experienced similar reunion games with the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres.
“There’s lots of guys he can bounce ideas off,” the coach noted.
With William Karlsson out, Cassidy is currently deploying Marner as the team’s second-line centre. Marner never played down the middle in Toronto.
“I mean, he can kind of do it all, right,” Matthews said. “He played on the back end for us at times and stuff like that. There’s not really any doubt in my mind that he can, you know, succeed in that position as well.”
The Knights did not hold a media availability on Thursday prior to the game.
Early Trading: What to expect in Marner’s first game against Maple Leafs? TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins Gino Reda to discuss Mitch Marner’s first game against the Maple Leafs, where the Rangers go from here after the team got jeered following their home loss to the Senators and the Flames’ options on the trade market.
—
The Knights will be fired up to win Thursday’s game for Marner, but the Leafs will be feeling much the same way when it comes to Nicolas Roy, who was acquired in the summer sign-and-trade deal.
“There’s always juice both ways,” said Berube. “Same as having Royzy on our side, him coming back and playing against his old team.”
Roy led the stretch at the end of Toronto’s skate and did a hot lap around the rink afterwards much to the delight of teammates.
“It feels weird to be back, being in this locker room, but really excited,” the 28-year-old centre said. “I had so many good memories here. Just looking around the building, seeing some familiar faces, really exciting. It should be fun tonight.”
Roy played six seasons in Vegas and helped the Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. He will be honoured with a video tribute in the first period.
“I try not to think too much about it,” he said. “Already so much excitement around the game … Just gonna try to enjoy the moment tonight.”
‘I had so many good memories here’: Roy excited for his return to Vegas After being acquired by the Leafs in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade deal in the summer, Nicolas Roy explains how excited he is to return to Vegas tonight to face his former team for the first time.
—
The Knights have won five straight games to build a two-point lead atop the Pacific Division.
The Leafs are aiming to get back on track after seeing their 10-game point streak (8-0-2) come to an end on Tuesday. Toronto suffered its most lopsided loss of the season in Utah where they fell 6-1.
“Our puck play wasn’t very good,” the coach said. “Our routes weren’t very good in the game. You could tell that mentally we weren’t sharp. And I get the physical side of things because you travelled and it was a hard game in Colorado [on Monday] and I get all that, but mentally we weren’t sharp in the game and it caused a lot of issues.”
The Leafs started the road trip with an emotional overtime win in Colorado on Monday night.
“We just got to come out with some jump,” said Matthews. “We were a little bit flat coming out in Utah. There’s no excuses with the travel and stuff like that, but it just didn’t really feel like we had that juice. We had a day off, great skate this morning, and we just got to make sure that we come out tonight, drop of the puck, and make sure that we got the juice on the bench, on the ice, and just try to roll all four lines and keep it going.”
Leafs Ice Chips: Urgency to get back on track The Maple Leafs are looking to get back on track tonight against the Golden Knights following a 6-1 loss to the Mammoth on Tuesday night which snapped Toronto’s 10-game point streak. Mark Masters has more.
—
The Leafs had a golden chance to tie the game on Tuesday night early in the second period when Tavares broke in on a breakaway. But the veteran pivot shot the puck right into the glove of Karel Vejmelka.
“I probably just rushed my shot a little bit,” he explained. “I thought maybe he might drop his hand. Obviously, he clearly didn’t. Just a misread by me. I had more time than [I thought]. So, yeah, just learn from it and be ready for the next chance.”
Vejmelka is among the rare right-catching goalies in the league.
“It is different,” Tavares acknowledged. “But, I mean, I think I’ve been through it enough that you feel pretty good about it.”
Tavares pointed out that he beat Vejmelka high on the glove side during a game in Arizona two years ago, which may have been in the back of his mind.
“I don’t know if that played into it a little bit, just thinking he might drop his hand, but yeah, he didn’t,” Tavares said.
Left-catching Adin Hill was activated off injured reserve on Thursday and is expected to get the start for the Knights. Tavares leads all Leafs with two goals in seven career games against Hill.
Joseph Woll is the projected starter for the Leafs.
‘Just rushed my shot’: Tavares breaks down breakaway miss vs. Mammoth’s Vejmelka Maple Leafs forward John Tavares breaks down his breakaway miss Wednesday night against Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who wears his glove on his right hand.
—
Nick Robertson missed Tuesday’s game after blocking a shot off the inside of his left knee on Monday night in Colorado.
“It felt like I broke my leg, but I didn’t thankfully,” the winger said. “It was pretty painful, but it’s part of the game.”
The shot hit Robertson in a spot where there’s no real padding or protection.
“I feel like it hit a nerve or something,” he recalled. “I dropped and couldn’t really move.”
X-rays were negative, but Robertson was dealing with pain and discomfort, which is why he missed the game in Utah. He skated on the third line with Roy and Easton Cowan on Thursday morning.
—
Matthew Knies missed Thursday’s skate with Berube terming it a “maintenance” issue. The big winger is expected to play against Vegas.
—
Lines at Leafs skate on Thursday:
McMann – Matthews – Domi
Maccelli – Tavares – Nylander
Cowan – Roy – Robertson
Lorentz – Laughton – Jarnkrok
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Stecher
Benning – Myers
Woll
Hildeby
Stolarz
Power play units at Leafs skate on Thursday:
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Matthews, Maccelli
Bumper: Tavares
Down low: Nylander
QB: Ekman-Larsson
Flanks: Domi, Cowan
Bumper: Robertson
Net front: McMann
16 moments that defined Marner’s Toronto tenure In nine seasons with the Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner captivated fans with his exceptional play on the ice but he was also at the centre of attention for everything good and bad that happened to the team. Here’s a look back at the 16 moments that defined Marner’s Toronto tenure.