Ryan Reaves opines 'ruthless' Toronto fans led to Mitch Marner's exit from Maple Leafs 

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves shared his perspective on Mitch Marner'sdeparture from the Maple Leafs.

Following a nine-year stint with the Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights last week in a sign-and-trade move. He agreed to an eight-year, $96 million contract before being sent to Vegas, with center Nicolas Roy coming back to Toronto as part of the deal.

Speaking on "The Cam & Strick" podcast, Reaves acknowledged Marner's long-standing commitment to the Maple Leafs organization.

"Mitchie earned the right to go wherever he wants. He's dedicated a lot of his career—his whole career—to Toronto," Reaves said (Timestamp: 1:42:13). "A hometown guy. He's poured everything he had into it. Sometimes it's just time to move on."

Reaves also pointed to the intense criticism Marner faced from Toronto's passionate fan base as a contributing factor in his departure:

"I think they can be a little ruthless to him. I guess just because he's the hometown guy, and sometimes fans want to point fingers at somebody."

He further noted that there are two distinct factions within the Leafs' fanbase: those who are solely driven by a desire to win, even if it means "dragging anybody through the dirt," and the loyal supporters who simply want to cheer on a successful team.

“Unfortunately, there's a lot of fans there, so you get a lot of both… I think it's tough for any player when you're just reading all the hate that you get. It's probably just frustrating," Reaves added.

Drafted No. 4 in 2015, Mitch Marner tallied 741 points in 657 games for the Leafs, ranking fifth in team history.

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving on replacing Mitch Marner

Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving is facing the difficult task of replacing Mitch Marner after the trade. With limited cap space and few top-six forwards available, Treliving acknowledged it won't be easy to fill the void.

"It's not as simple as just going to replace Mitch," Treliving said on the "Real Kyper & Bourne" podcast. "There wasn't a huge appetite for people to move players. You have a rising cap, and you've got a shortage of top players.

"I don't think you're ever finished. You're always looking to try to improve your team," he added.

He also pointed out that opportunities could come from teams facing challenges or players unexpectedly hitting the market.