From our vantage point, the popular discourse surrounding Mitch Marner has been misapplied. It’s not a matter if Marner will be booed upon donning the Vegas Golden Knights jersey on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s a matter of how loud and vicious they will be. There Will Be Boos, and for all the narratives entering the most emotionally charged regular season contest in recent memory, this game is for the fans.

I’ll delineate myself from the fans as someone who covers the Maple Leafs, but the supporters weren’t offered any measure of catharsis in the aftermath of Marner’s departure. Marner was booed vigorously during his final appearance with the team, where he submitted a dreadful performance against the Florida Panthers in Game 7, shortly following the worst game of his career in Game 5. Marner left under acrimonious terms, and because a minute portion of the NHL’s largest fan base crossed the line, the entire scope of Leafs Nation were cast as heartless villains who forced the sixth-leading scorer in franchise history out of town.

As we’ve written all week, and really since Marner’s departure: we do not condone violence in any form towards players. Marner and his loved ones have the express right to feel secure within the City of Toronto, and harassing him outside of his home is beyond the pale.

With this express caveat out of the way, the arena is more than fair game. In the lead-up to Friday’s game, it’s often been pondered if Marner will receive the same wrath Vince Carter incurred 22 years ago in his return against the Toronto Raptors. The popular response from fans and journalists in this straw poll has simply amounted to: Marner isn’t Vince Carter and his popular impact on the city only extends to the on-ice proceedings. And yet, because he refused to discuss his contract negotiations in good faith during his final season with the team, then refused to waive his no-movement clause in a potential trade for Mikko Rantanen, followed by a bet on himself gone horribly wrong, the fans are within their rights to give him a scathing reaction.

It will be a dead march, so we’re inclined to present Henry Purcell’s Music for the Funeral of Queen Anne. It’s a haunting, slow score full of pomp and circumstance, which may adroitly parallel a player known for their deft pirouettes on the ice. This is also the theme to A Clockwork Orange, and was recently invoked in an episode of HBO’s Industry. We’re not welcoming Marner to the ultraviolence, but this will be a sad processional, of what went wrong for a Toronto-born and raised superstar that ought to have known better.

It’s a sporting tragedy that Marner’s late-stage relationship with the Maple Leafs eroded. Friday’s game will surely provide a measure of closure for all parties involved. Marner will face the wrath of the fan base for one final time, before being considered out of sight, out of mind. It’s clear the Leafs want to move on from the Marner questions as well, even if he remains a dear friend to many on the roster. This game is truly for the fans, providing an outlet for their frustrations.

As my colleague Jon Steitzer noted, you’re not compelled to boo Marner either. There were plenty of great moments during his nine years with the Maple Leafs, and if you want to celebrate this, it will be welcomed. After the final whistle sounds on Friday, another chapter in the 109-year history of the Maple Leafs franchise will come to a close. This one’s for the fans.