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Mitch Marner's reluctance to join the Carolina Hurricanes last season has turned out to be karma in an interesting twist of fate.

The season for the Vegas Golden Knights and former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner came to a disappointing close at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Golden Knights, who took a two-games-to-one series lead, ultimately lost the next three games. The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006, while the Golden Knights will have to try for their second Stanley Cup win since 2023 next season.

The Golden Knights acquired Marner in a highly-publicized sign-and-trade deal with the Maple Leafs last offseason in a deal that sent Nicolas Roy back to Toronto. As fate would have it, Roy would be traded to the Colorado Avalanche at the NHL Trade Deadline; he and the Avalanche were eliminated by Marner and the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final in a four-game sweep.

Meanwhile, Marner alluded to “dark times” earlier in his NHL career, and now he’s elaborating.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Mitch Marner Elaborates On “Dark Times” Comment

Marner was asked if he could elaborate on his comments before the Stanley Cup Final, and he admitted that he had been struggling with his mental health in recent years.

“I think I just, you know, when I said that, mental health is a super important thing to me, it really is,” Marner said. “I’ve been trying to take care of my mental health for the last five years or so. And I’m really thankful that I had some unbelievable teammates in Toronto that I was able to talk to and express myself.”

Marner continued by emphasizing the importance of talking to one’s family and friends in order to embrace the challenges that life can present, which as we’ve found out, don’t bypass well-compensated professional athletes.

“Like I said, my family, my mom, my dad, my brother, my wife,” he said. “There were some really dark moments there. The thought of playing hockey was tough in a lot of ways, there was just a dark kind of vibe and a dark hole. And I’m very thankful, like I said, to have people around me and teammates that would ask me how I was doing and knew I was going through something that I could talk to.”

During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marner was one of the frontrunners for the Conn Smythe Trophy, scoring 10 goals and 19 assists in 22 games.

Mitch Marner Emphasized The Importance Of Mental Health

Marner concluded by talking about the importance of always checking in with one’s family and friends, especially with regard to mental health.

“I think it’s important to check in with your friends and family, talking your mental health,” Marner said. “I think it’s something in this day and age that gets talked about but still overlooked in a lot of ways. I think a lot of us are addicted to the social media aspect of things. Seeing a lot of comments, seeing a lot about yourself. I’ve tried to check myself out of that in the last two to three years, trying to get off it and trying to get away from it. I think that’s helped in a lot of ways.”

“But you’ve gotta be able to talk about it, too…you should never be afraid to talk about your emotions and your fears.”