Former NHL executive Brian Burke believes that Mitch Marner’s first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena is a huge deal for everyone involved. Marner made his controversial exit from the Leafs on June 30th in a sign-and-trade deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, which resulted in him signing an eight-year, $12 million contract. Toronto acquired Nicolas Roy in the trade.

Marner and the Golden Knights host the Maple Leafs on Thursday, his first game against his former club, before returning to Scotiabank Arena on January 23. The 28-year-old left the organization as the Maple Leafs’ sixth-leading scorer in franchise history, registering 741 points over the first nine seasons of his NHL career. Although Marner and the Leafs will likely view the first matchup as just another game, Burke feels that it will be hard for everyone not to care about his return to Toronto next week.

“I think it’s a big deal for everyone. This is a high-quality player. Mitch Marner was a great Leaf when he was here in Toronto. He was a great Leaf, he was a great player. He is a good kid, too,” Burke said during an appearance on The Sheet with Jeff Marek on Thursday. ”His tenure ended unceremoniously, and I think people were not happy with him at the end. But this is a great Leaf, and I hope he gets a nice reception when he comes back next week.”

There was an expectation that Marner, along with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares, would lead the Leafs to their first Stanley Cup since 1967 when the quadrant first formed in 2018. Yet, the best the ‘Core Four’ could achieve was two playoff round wins in 2024, which were followed up by a second-round elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers in 2025, where Marner was dismal down the stretch. Marner was booed nearly every time he touched the puck towards the end of what ended up being his final game with the Leafs.

“I love the fan base there, I loved how passionate they were. I loved how they welcomed me and obviously stuff didn’t go as great as we planned. But that’s how sometimes things happen,” Marner said to the Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran. “I’m grateful forever to have worn that jersey. But I’m happy for this new chapter. It’s a new chapter in my life. I’m focused on here.”

Marner’s legacy in Toronto as it stands is that he was a skilled-winger who was productive in the regular season and had a strong two-way game, but was the poster child of the Leafs’ playoff futility. While the losses were obviously not entirely on him, his struggles when the lights shone bright were put under the microscope given his high cap-hit and critical role on the team.

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