It’s become almost a colloquial term at this point, the idea of a revenge game.
A player goes against his former team, and that’s what people have begun to call it. Of course, it isn’t really that simple for most players, like Mitch Marner when he takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
There are a lot of different emotions surely involved, and they can’t all be revenge.
In this case, it wasn’t even Toronto’s direct decision to get rid of Marner. By the end, he had made it clear he didn’t see a future with the Maple Leafs.
So there’s definitely more nuance to this.
But the reality of Thursday, Oct. 8 is that the Vegas Golden Knights, Marner’s new team, have a home game, and it’s against the Maple Leafs.
No matter what you want to call it, it’s the kind of scene that will draw some extra attention from the hockey world.
Why Mitch Marner Left Maple Leafs
By the end of his contract at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Marner had made it clear to Toronto that he didn’t want to re-sign there.
There’s been plenty of speculation, but Marner hasn’t delved too deeply into much of it. It’s likely some of the decision had to do with the heavy attention always on the Maple Leafs in the Toronto market and what that brought when players struggled, but it surely was a much more complex decision from that for Marner.
But by the end, his intentions were straightforward. So instead of letting Marner leave in free agency, the Leafs executed a sign-and-trade with Vegas to get a little value back, and it allowed the Golden Knights to get Marner on a max-length eight-year deal.
Now with Marner in his second season with Vegas, it feels a little less fresh, and a little more just like the business of sports being the business of sports.
Plenty of fans in Toronto still won’t love the fact that Marner left, though.
Mitch Marner Stats vs. Maple Leafs
Marner was on the ice for two games against the Maple Leafs during the 2025-26 season.
The first was on Jan. 15, a home game for Vegas which they won 6-5 in overtime. That night, Marner finished with two assists while also dishing out two hits and blocking a shot.
The Golden Knights were then right back in Toronto on Jan. 23, and Vegas won again, this time 6-3. Marner didn’t have a point, a hit or a block that night despite playing 17:25.
The takeaway there is that in a rough season for Toronto, Vegas took care of business both times Marner got to see his former team.
The Maple Leafs sure wouldn’t mind showing that this season, things are a bit different — a win in Vegas on Thursday night would be an impressive statement by Toronto.
Mitch Marner’s Next Revenge Chance Arrives vs. Maple Leafs