They may have entered the National Hockey League as an expansion club in 2017, but the Vegas Golden Knights are on their way to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in team history.
They completed the stunning sweep of the Colorado Avalanche, who won the President’s Trophy as the best club during the NHL’s regular season, on Tuesday evening with a 2-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena.
And adding special insult to injury to fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs was the fact that Mitch Marner, who spent the entire first portion of his career wearing the Maple Leafs crest, is going to play for the Stanley Cup in his first year away from the organization.
Fans Lose Their Minds As Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Mitch Marner Advances To Stanley Cup Final
Immediately after the Golden Knights advanced to the Stanley Cup Final thanks in large part to the contributions of Marner, the reactions from fans on social media started pouring in.
This fan exclaimed, “Mitch Marner is going to play in the Stanley Cup. Check in on your Toronto sports fans.”
Another fan said, “All it took was one year of not being a Toronto Maple Leaf for Mitch Marner to make it to the Stanley Cup Final 😂”
“Mitch Marner winning a cup in his first year out of Toronto would be the funniest thing ever lol” wrote another fan.
This fan wrote, “Mitch Marner about to join Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak as long term Leafs to never do anything in Toronto and immediately win a Cup the next year.”
Another fan seemed to reference current Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, writing, “Mitch Marner after a decade of hardly getting past the 1st round in Toronto in his 1st season with the Vegas Golden Knights will finally play on the NHL’s grand stage, think a certain Toronto superstar is taking notice?”
“I’m sorry NHL hockey fans, but I gotta root for Vegas to win the Cup. If Mitch Marner wins the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup, then brings the Cup home to Toronto would be the cherry on top. Maple Leafs fans would have a meltdown,” this fan said.
Finally, this fan wrote, “Mitch Marner making the Stanley Cup Final right after leaving Toronto is a generational indictment of that franchise.”
Former Maple Leaf Mitch Marner Leads All NHL Players In Playoff Points
Not only did Marner score at nearly a point-per-game pace during his first season with the Golden Knights, but he enters the Stanley Cup Final as the current leading scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If the Golden Knights were to go on and win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history, it wouldn’t be stunning whatsoever to see Marner take home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the postseason.
Ironically, Nicolas Roy, the player that the Maple Leafs acquired from Vegas for Marner, was later traded to Colorado at the NHL Trade Deadline and eliminated by Marner and the Golden Knights.
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