Sharks’ Reaves defends ex-Leafs teammate, now Vegas winger, after toxic ending to Toronto tenure
SAN JOSE Ryan Reaves will play against a group of close friends on Thursday night when the San Jose Sharks face the Vegas Golden Knights in their season-opening contest at SAP Center That list of Golden Knights players includes winger Mitch Marner with whom Reaves was teammates for a season and a half with the Toronto Maple Leafs Marner after nine seasons playing for his hometown group was signed by the Leafs to an eight-year million contract on June and then traded to the Golden Knights for forward Nicolas Roy Before Marner a new father finalized his decision he spoke with Reaves and others about the Golden Knights organization and what family life would be like in the city best known for its gambling and nightlife I just narrated him my experience announced Reaves who spent three-plus seasons with the Golden Knights from to I really enjoyed my time in Vegas The city treats you really well The fans treat you well and the owner treats the group very well The lifestyle you can t beat it It s Las Vegas Reaves who signed a three-year contract with the Leafs as a free agent in and was traded to the Sharks in July also offered encouragement to Marner after he endured a toxic final year in Toronto The Maple Leafs finished atop the Atlantic Division last season They advanced to the second round of the playoffs but lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in seven games Marner was roundly criticized for his performance in that series particularly in Battle when his neutral zone turnover and less-than-stellar backcheck resulted in a Jesper Boqvist goal and a - Florida lead in the second period After a career-best -point regular season Marner had just one assist in the final four games of the series against the Panthers In nine playoff appearances Marner and the Leafs core managed to get past the first round just twice while never reaching the Eastern Conference final Marner explained TSN in August that soon after he returned home after that encounter he received a message from his father-in-law He goes I just want to let you know we ve got people sending us screenshots of a guy posting your address online saying that if people want to come pay us a visit and say you know their goodbyes in a quotation way here s the address And it was a little tough obviously Marner announced I mean we kind of dealt with it for the last two years in a way The sphere s very passionate They love the band I mean I know it I was born and raised there I ve been a part of the Leafs Nation for a long time But yeah when your family s safety comes into question especially having a new son I don t think it s acceptable We had people throwing stuff in his yard Marner s agent Darren Ferris communicated the Hockey podcast There was another occasion where there was a death threat and we traced it to a kid in Oakville Ont Marner had a safety guard around his house for two weeks after that playoff series ended Related Articles San Jose Sharks to go without a captain as leadership group is unveiled What s the Sharks rise plan for Misa Dickinson It s not totally clear yet San Jose Sharks to announce decision on captaincy What s the final step San Jose Sharks list injuries on official season-opening roster San Jose Sharks make room for the kids on season-opening NHL roster I ve spoken to him countless times about that when he was having a hard time with it at the end of last season Reaves reported I think what people forget in Toronto is Mitch did nothing but give that city his best for nine years the best hockey he possibly could have put on the ice He didn t have a good playoff one year he didn t have a good stretch Well every athlete goes through that and the band isn t made up of one superstar right You ve got to win as a crew So when they place blame on one guy I think it s unfair He poured his heart and soul into that city I m not saying every fan was like that because obviously of the fans really appreciate everything he did there But to crap on a guy for what he did there sometimes it pushes you away and sometimes you want to see something new Sometimes you ve just been doing the same thing over and over and you just want to try something new Now that Marner is out from under the microscope in Toronto Reaves stated he believes his former teammates is going to thrive
