Golden Knights’ Mitch Marner drops ‘dark times’ admission after West Final win

It’s been a long and winding road for Mitch Marner, but the star forward will finally get a chance to win a Stanley Cup after helping the Vegas Golden Knights sweep the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.

The Knights completed the shocking upset on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, beating the Avs 2-1 to book their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in four seasons.

And Marner has been a catalyst, leading the NHL playoffs with seven goals and 21 points in 16 contests. He is a frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, but he admitted after Game 4 how challenging it’s been to reach this stage.

“It was an emotional moment. There’s been some dark times in hockey for myself, but I’m honestly thankful for my family, my brother, my mom and dad, my wife, my son, all my friends around me,” Marner said afterwards, per NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger.

“So, yeah, that was the moment I just expressed some joy and some fun there. I’ll enjoy the night and get ready to go to work.”

Marner has been a difference-maker since coming over from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a sign-and-trade last offseason. He scored 80 points in 81 games in the regular season, but has completely elevated his game this spring.

And after years of criticism surrounding the Leafs’ playoff failures, Marner is silencing plenty of that criticism with a dominant postseason performance.

“Obviously, it’s something you dreamt of as a kid,” he continued. “So, obviously really excited about it. The work keeps going.”

The Knights deserve a ton of credit for how they’ve come together in the playoffs after an up-and-down regular season that saw Bruce Cassidy replaced by John Tortorella in the waning weeks of the campaign.

Now, they have an opportunity to win a second championship in four seasons, and fulfill a childhood dream for Marner in the process.

“Guys just come to the rink excited every day to go to work,” he said. “They want to make each other better, and we just have so much trust in whoever is going over the boards. And it showed again tonight.”

The Knights will get some well-deserved rest and relaxation as they await the winner of the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

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