"It's on the management": Former NHL AGM blasts Maple Leafs top brass for Mitch Marner's exit from Toronto

Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights by the Toronto Maple Leafs before he signed an eight-year $96 million contract extension with the team. The Toronto-native left his boyhood club after nine seasons, where he became one of the mainstays, but a lack of playoff success haunted him.

Toronto's Core Four, consisting of Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares, have borne the brunt of their playoff losses. In the seven seasons together, the Leafs won just two playoff series, reaching the second round once while losing out in the first round in all other years. Somehow, their strong regular season performances didn't translate into playoff wins.

As per Craig Button, the 28-year-old's departure should be blamed on the management. The media often made Marner a scapegoat and the Leafs' top brass didn't protect him enough.

"When you think back to last year, Brad had been in the job for a year," Button said. "But could it have been avoided with Brad saying, “Hey Mitch, we want to sign you”? I don't know why the Leafs wouldn't want to sign Mitch Marner.

"You can look at the team and go, “Okay, Mitch Marner is the reason you didn't win.” Well, if that's the case, be careful, because I don't think that's the reason. Bottom line for Toronto is they weren't deep enough to win with Marner and Matthews and all those guys. It's on the management. That's not on the players."

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At the end of the current season, Marner and Tavares headed into free agency. The Leafs re-signed the latter to a four-year $17.553 million contract; however, Marner, who didn't show much intention to stay, turned free agent before the Knights pulled off the sign-and-trade.

The Leafs will now have to replace a player who scored 102 points this past season. They extended Matthew Knies to a $7.75 million annual average contract, who will take up the bulk of the offensive duties left by Marner, while they also got Nicolas Roy in return from the Knights.

Mitch Marner delivers message to Toronto fans

Mitch Marner penned down his words for the Leafs fan base, highlighting the struggles of not being able to bring home the Cup for his hometown and lifting the trophy drought that has plagued fans since 1967.

"Leaving isn't easy," Marner wrote. "This city is where I grew up, where I fell in love with hockey, and where I've had the incredible honour of living out my childhood dream. Wearing the Maple Leaf on my chest wasn't just about playing for a team, it was about representing my home.

"As I prepare for what comes next, I leave a different person than I was at 18. I'll always be grateful for my time here, and most of all, I'm so proud to have been a Toronto Maple Leafs."

Marner's Leafs career folded with 741 career points, including 221 goals and 520 assists.