GM Brad Treliving makes feelings known about Mitch Marner's Leafs exit via a $96 million sign-and-trade deal with Golden Knights

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving commented on Mitch Marner's departure via a sign-and-trade deal with the Vegas Golden Knights worth $96 million over eight years. Marner was sent to Vegas in exchange for center Nicolas Roy.

On Tuesday, Treliving declined to confirm if the Maple Leafs had offered Marner a more lucrative contract to stay in Toronto. He also didn't comment on speculation that tampering may have played a role in Marner's negotiations with Vegas.

"He's going to go down as one of the great Leafs, right? The statistics prove it. You know, ultimately, the player has a choice," Treliving said. (as per Sportsnet.)

"I don't think it’s proper to get into personal discussions that I have with players, but certainly we approached Mitch to engage him on a contract. As is his right, Mitch and his representative wanted to wait until the year was done. And as it became clear to us that potential may not be there..."

Treliving explained that as Marner had a full no-move clause, which was negotiated under former GM Kyle Dubas, he had full control over the process. He added that this is essentially what led to the current outcome.

Marner tallied 741 points in 657 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, placing him fifth on the team's all-time scoring leaderboard. His departure via trade ends a nine-year tenure with the team that drafted him.

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NHL analyst Jeff O'Neill: Mitch Marner getting "screwed" in Toronto

On TSN's FanDuel Overdrive, NHL analyst Jeff O'Neill acknowledged that Mitch Marner is a "fantastic player" who was paid appropriately. But he expressed confusion over the forward's apparent tendency to portray himself as being "screwed" or treated unfairly.

"It seemed like he always had this thing where he was kind of getting screwed somehow, and I never really understood that," O'Neill remarked (3:53).

"People were always all over him, or he was getting the short end of the stick, or I don't know. I could never figure that out and maybe I read that wrong."

Despite Mitch Marner's undeniable talent and entertainment value, O'Neill admitted that he never fully grasped the notion that the skilled winger had been wronged or mistreated during his tenure with the Maple Leafs.