The Mitch Marner era for the Toronto Maple Leafs officially came to a close last offseason when he was dealt as part of a major sign and trade deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in return for Nicolas Roy.
In his very first season with the Golden Knights, Marner scored at nearly a point per game pace, and put himself firmly into the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy, helping Vegas reach the Stanley Cup Final before they eventually fell to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Meanwhile, Roy didn't last a full season in Toronto before he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche; coincidently, they were beaten by Marner and the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.
Marner, who has appeared in the headlines multiple times so far this offseason thanks in large part to comments made by his agent of his time in Toronto, is paying tribute to a former teammate of his that tragically passed in a boating accident.
Former forward Matt Pepler tragically passed away in a boating accident that occurred on Lake Rosseau; he was only 32 years old.
On their official Instagram account, the club wrote the following tribute:
"It is with great sadness that we are announcing the tragic reported passing of former Buzzers player Matt Pepler. Matt played for the Buzzers between 2011-15. ✝️
The Muskoka community is mourning the reported passing of Matt Pepler following a boating accident on Lake Rosseau, Ontario. The news has brought sadness to family members, friends, and community members who are remembering him and offering support to those affected by the tragedy."
Marner, who played with Pepler with the Ontario Junior Hockey League's St. Michael's Buzzers, wrote a message of remembrance for his fallen teammate.
"Rest easy, brother," Marner wrote on social media.
Marner indicated that he went through some "dark" times while with the Maple Leafs, and stressed the importance of mental health.
"When I said that, I think 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," Marner said during the Golden Knights' season-ending media availability session. "I'm really thankful that I had some unbelievable teammates around me in Toronto that I was able to talk to and express myself."
"There were some really dark moments there, that the thought of playing hockey was just really tough, honestly, in a lot of ways. Just a dark kind of vibe, a dark hole in a way," Marner said. "And I'm very thankful that I had people around me, teammates that asked me how I was doing and knew that I was going through something, that I could talk to."
Marner scored 24 goals with 56 assists in 81 games played in 2025-26, and then followed that up with 10 goals and 19 assists during the postseason, which included a natural hat trick in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
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