Although things are better for Marner mentally, the process didn’t happen overnight.
Marner alluded to having “some dark times in hockey” after helping Vegas sweep the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final on May 26. He didn’t elaborate on the specifics of that comment on Tuesday, but it's no secret that he endured criticism and had a fair amount of heat thrown his way during his first nine NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who sent him to Vegas in a sign-and-trade deal on July 1, 2025.
Marner did admit, though, that the last five years have been filled with self-reflection, leaning on others for support, and cutting out the noise that comes with being a high-profile player in the NHL.
"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," he said. "I'm really thankful that I've had some unbelievable teammates around me in Toronto that I was able to talk to, express myself. ... There were some really dark moments there that, you know, the thought of playing hockey was really tough honestly in a lot of ways.
"It was just a dark kind of vibe, a dark hole in a way, and I'm very thankful, like I said, that I had people around me, teammates, that asked me how I was doing and knew (if I was) going through something, that I could talk to.
“A lot of us are addicted to social media. You see a lot of comments about yourself, a lot of things about yourself. I’ve been trying to check myself out of that the last two or three years, really just try to get off there and try to get away from it. That's helped in a lot of ways. You have to be able to talk about it, too.”
One person he was able to talk to was Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel.
Eichel played his first six NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before being traded to Vegas on Nov. 4, 2021. In the months leading up to that trade -- something he had asked for -- there was a disagreement surrounding Eichel's desire to have artificial disc replacement surgery (which the Sabres were not comfortable with), followed by the forward being stripped of his captaincy after failing a physical prior to training camp.
In a candid 1-on-1 with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com on May 29, Eichel said he'd "be lying if I said there wasn't a low point."
“I am sure it was a refreshing year for Mitch. Living and being a part of this community and being a part of this organization, it's a special place to play,” Eichel said. “The organization does an incredible job of allowing you as a player to focus on playing, performing and doing your job. Everywhere throughout this organization people do an outstanding job doing whatever. It bleeds into allowing us to just do the things we need to do and not have to worry about other things.
“All of us as players are really grateful and appreciative.”
