Vegas' Mitch Marner reflects on 'dark' days with Maple Leafs - ESPN

Before the Stanley Cup Final, Mitch Marner teased that he'd discuss the «dark» times he experienced earlier in his career after the series.

Following the Carolina Hurricanes' elimination of Marner's Vegas Golden Knights in six games to win the Cup, Marner delivered on that promise.

«When I said that, I think mental health is a super important thing to me. It really is. I've been really trying to take care of my mental health probably for the last five years or so,» said Marner on Tuesday, as the Golden Knights met the media for the final time this season. «I'm really thankful that I had some unbelievable teammates around me in Toronto that I was able to talk to and express myself.»

Marner played his first nine seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team that drafted him fourth overall in 2015. While he produced in the regular season (741 points in 657 games), Marner was a postseason pariah in Toronto, taking the blame from fans and media for the team's playoff failures thanks to a reduction in points production and some lapses in his play.

«There were some really dark moments there, that the thought of playing hockey was just really tough, honestly, in a lot of ways. Just a dark kind of vibe, a dark hole in a way,» said Marner. «And 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, that I could talk to.»

Marner opted not to sign an extension with the Maple Leafs last summer, instead agreeing to a long-term deal with the Golden Knight after they acquired him from Toronto. Marner was the leading scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 29 points in 22 games for Vegas.

Marner said he valued being able to rely on «my family, my