Mitch Marner had opened up about mental health before, but it was one of the few times he looked at ease doing it.
Moments after the Vegas Golden Knights punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final after sweeping the Colorado Avalanche, Marner was shown on the jumbotron and let out a yell that seemed to eradicate years of pent up frustration.
When he got into the locker room, he was asked about showing that emotion and said there have been “some dark times in hockey for myself, honestly.”
He was asked prior to the start of the final if he could elaborate.
“I’ll talk about that in the coming weeks, if that happens,” Marner said.
It doesn’t take longer than one Google search to find something that could have led to Marner putting an added importance on mental health. You’ll find the moment in 2022 when Marner and his wife, Stephanie, had their car stolen by three armed robbers who were being chased by Toronto police.
His final years in Toronto were filled with frightening moments that put himself and his family in danger. His home address was leaked. People violated his yard.
Two days after the Knights lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Cup Final — and fresh off the best postseason of his career — Marner was asked if he could elaborate on that “dark times” comment. He didn’t go into specific detail on what led to that.
But the answer was one of his more poignant responses.
“Mental health is a super important thing to me. It really is,” Marner said. “I’ve really tried to take care of my mental health for the past five years. I’m really thankful that I had some unbelievable teammates in Toronto that I was able to talk to and express myself. My family, my brother, my mom, dad, my wife.
“There were some really dark moments there that the thought of playing hockey was really tough, honestly, in a lot of ways. It was just a dark kind of vibe, a dark hole, in a way. I’m very thankful that I had people around me, teammates that asked me how I was doing and knew that I was going through something.”
Who knows what Marner would have said had the Knights won the Stanley Cup. How much more detail would he have gone into.
One day he might. For now, Marner is focused on the present. That would be his second season in Las Vegas, one filled with high expectations for the team and himself after falling two wins shy of a title.
Another year
Marner’s first season with the Knights was met with turbulence. He played 81 games. The only one he missed was the first one after the Winter Olympics, where Marner won silver with Canada.
He finished with 80 points, averaging less than a point per game for the first time since his second year. Marner played the majority of the season at center due to center William Karlsson’s hamstring injury that forced him to miss 68 games.
Once Karlsson returned, it unlocked something in Marner. He created instant chemistry in the playoffs with Karlsson and forward Brett Howden. The trio have skated together during training camp and will open the season playing together.
“Obviously more comfortable,” Marner said about going into his second training camp with the Knights. “I kind of know who I’m going to play with to start the year. That’s always good. It’s always nice to come in and know everyone here and be more comfortable, kind of be yourself.”
It hasn’t been difficult for Marner to be himself. He’s fit in well with a locker room full of veterans and others who know what it takes to win. It doesn’t take much to hear him chirp his teammates or let out a loud yell each time he makes a play.
‘He’s a competitor’
Marner took the brunt of the blame for Toronto’s playoff shortcomings. He eradicated those ghosts of yesteryear with the first two playoff hat tricks of his career, including the natural hat trick in Game 3 of the Cup Final.
“He’s a competitor. A hockey guy who loves the game,” Knights coach Ryan Craig said. “He has a real special hockey IQ. We saw that kind of joy for the game come out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the stakes are highest.”
Howden was a beneficiary of playing with Marner, scoring a league-high 14 goals in the playoffs, also a Knights record. In another world, Howden would have gotten Conn Smythe Trophy consideration for playoff MVP if the Knights won.
Marner’s play was of another world far beyond any comprehension.
“Getting to see it firsthand and getting the chance to play with him, he sees a lot of plays that a lot of guys either can’t make, or don’t see,” Howden said. “He’s just super intelligent.”
Marner said after the season that he felt more free mentally. He’s tried to make a point to stay away from social media. His last post on X was in December 2023.
He showed last year he’s at home with the Knights, coming closer than he’s ever been to winning a championship. What he does for an encore could go a long way in figuring out how far they go again.
“I think when you’re in a mental blender, you put a lot of stress on your body and your mind. You’re up a lot of nights thinking about how you can be better and change things,” Marner said. “I think a new environment, stuff like that, maybe it helped release a little bit.
“Having these guys around me, too, helps a lot. We have a pretty tight-knit group. It’s pretty special.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
