- Auston Matthews said he was happy for Mitch Marner after the Golden Knights winger’s run to the Stanley Cup Final
- Matthews and Marner still keep in touch regularly after nine seasons as Maple Leafs teammates
- Read below for what Matthews said and how the reunion game in Vegas played out
Auston Matthews has no hard feelings about Mitch Marner and says the two are still close friends.
Matthews was asked about Marner before Thursday’s game between the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights, specifically about the run Marner had to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
“Personally, as a friend, I was happy for him,” Matthews said. “We still keep in touch a lot. He’s a great person, great teammate, great friend. It’ll be nice to see him tonight.”
Catch the clip from Sportsnet:
Marner had a huge postseason in Vegas. He finished with an NHL-best 29 points in 22 games as the Golden Knights reached the Final, where they lost to the Hurricanes.
The two played nine seasons together in Toronto before the Maple Leafs traded Marner to Vegas. He finished his time with the Leafs with 741 points in 657 regular-season games.
Their first meeting this season turned into a good one. Vegas climbed out of a 3-0 hole and beat Toronto 4-3 in a shootout, with Marner setting up Brett Howden’s goal in the second period and Matthews picking up an assist for the Leafs. We broke down the comeback in our Jack Eichel penalty shot story.
Marner scored his first goal of the season in a win over the Canucks earlier this month. Toronto sits at 2-2-1, and the Golden Knights are 4-1-0 after the win.
