Mitch Marner's 'Vitriolic' Maple Leafs Exit Draws Vince Carter Comparison
Mitch Marner is officially no longer a Toronto Maple Leaf, and his exit from Ontario is already being described as one of the most contentious in recent Toronto sports history.
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After spending his first nine seasons in the NHL with his hometown team, Marner was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday in a sign-and-trade that saw the star winger ink a maximum eight-year, $96 million contract.
Speaking on TSN's "OverDrive" on Monday, NHL analyst Bryan Hayes drew an interesting comparison to Vince Carter's 2004 departure from the NBA's Toronto Raptors.
'I can't think of a more polarizing superstar in the city in recent years,' Hayes said. 'I can't think of a more vitriolic exit for a superstar in my lifetime.'
Hayes said while Marner didn't quit on the Leafs in the way Carter was perceived to have quit on the Raptors, it was clear he wanted out.
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'I'd love to know when (Marner) made up this decision,' Hayes said. 'It would appear to me it was last summer he decided, 'I'm out of here.'
'Maybe it was going to Vegas, and he knew it was going to be available to him. But he didn't demand out like Vince. He didn't quit on them. … Vince quit.'
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner had a career-high 102 points in 2024.James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
While Carter didn't publicly demand a trade, he was accused of playing badly on purpose to force the front office to trade him away.
Fellow analyst Jeff O'Neill echoed the sentiment that Marner's time in Toronto never sat quite right in terms of his public perception.
'Marner was a fantastic player, he was paid a lot — appropriately paid, "O'Neill said. "But I never understood his PR with the way he just, it seemed like he always had this thing where he was kind of getting screwed somehow and I never really understood that.
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'People were always all over him, or he was getting the short end of the stick, or something, I don't know."
The Golden Knights sent center Nicolas Roy to the Leafs as part of the deal, while Marner immediately signed the largest contract in Golden Knights history.
Related: What Could Happen if Maple Leafs File Mitch Marner Tampering Complaint
Related: Matthew Tkachuk's Four-Word Message After $64 Million Sam Bennett News
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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