NHL analysts predict hostile homecoming for Mitch Marner on January 23rd for his first game against Leafs in Toronto

Mitch Marner was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Vegas Golden Knights at the end of June. Marner signed an eight-year, $96 million extension with the Golden Knights.

As part of the deal, the Maple Leafs received center Nicolas Roy, who signed a five-year, $15 million contract with Toronto. The NHL recently released its schedule for the upcoming season, with the Maple Leafs set to open against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 8.

All eyes will be on Marner’s return to Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 23, when the Leafs face the Golden Knights. On Wednesday's edition of NHL Network, analysts Mike Rupp and E.J. Hradek predicted a hostile reception for Marner.

Hradek suggested fans might boo due to Marner’s choice to leave, feeling it put the team in a difficult position.

"Well, I think there's going to be a lot of booing," Hradek said. "I mean, just because when a guy leaves and he chooses to leave and, you know, some fans would say, 'Hey, you put us in a tough spot because you didn't even give us that opportunity to trade you.' So there'll be a lot of negative."

Rupp agreed, stating that while Marner doesn’t deserve such a response, his decision as a free agent to leave will likely lead to a tough reception from Toronto’s fan base.

"I don't think he's worthy of that type of response, as far as he shouldn't get that, but I understand why he gets it," Rupp said. "He's a Toronto kid going down as one of the best Leafs to ever put on that sweater. But at the end of the day, he was a free agent who chose to leave.

"And so that's Toronto is a hard fan base, I think, and that's what makes it great. But yeah, I don't think it's going to be all warm, welcome back for Mitch Marner."

NHL analyst criticizes Maple Leafs' handling of Mitch Marner situation

NHL analyst Bryan Hayes expressed disappointment with how the Toronto Maple Leafs handled Mitch Marner’s trade situation. He questioned the team's top brass and labeled it as "malpractice" on the part of management.

"Did they know he was out? You're hearing stories of 'everyone knows," Hayes said on TSN's OverDrive on Monday. "Everyone knows he's going to Vegas. If they knew that, then that is significant malpractice."

Marner played for nine seasons with the Leafs after being drafted fourth overall in the 2015 NHL draft. He played 576 games for the club, accumulating 639 points through 194 goals and 445 assists.