Auston Matthews Addresses Relationship With Mitch Marner Before First Game As Opponents

The longtime teammates will face off against one another for the first time in an NHL setting on Thursday night.

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will face off in an NHL game for the first time on Thursday. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will step into the rink as opponents for the first time in an NHL game on Thursday when the Golden Knights host the Maple Leafs. Formerly longtime teammates, Marner left Toronto during the offseason and signed a big-money contract with Vegas.

Now, he’ll be seeing his former teammates for the first time since his departure, and there figures to be plenty of emotions on both ends.

Speaking to Sportsnet’s Anna Dua before the game, Matthews was asked about his relationship with his former teammate and how he feels about playing against him.

“We definitely keep in touch a pretty decent amount,” Matthews said. “He’s always going to be a really close friend, a great person. ... It’s going to be fun playing against him tonight.”

Marner also discussed the matchup against his former team, saying it’s just another game for him despite his history with the franchise.

‘I don’t think I have to look at it as anything different—just another hockey game. I’ll just try to go out and do my thing,” he said, via Maple Leaf Hot Stove.

Marner, a former first-round pick in 2015, played nine seasons in Toronto. He made two All-Star Games in that span and ended his tenure with the team as its sixth leading scorer with 741 points in 657 games. In his first year in Vegas, Marner has been a dominant playmaker as usual. He has 47 points (36 assists) in 45 games, helping to lead the Golden Knights to the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division.

Thursday’s game is the first of two matchups between the Leafs and Knights this season. The second game, which will be played at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 23, may be a bit more personal for Marner and his former teammates.

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