Mitch Marner is just five days away from playing his first ever National Hockey League game not as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Vegas Golden Knights' marquee offseason addition is preparing for life on the strip, and he admitted to The Athletic's Dan Robson that he's looking forward to the different expectations with his new team.

“It feels a lot lighter, in a way,” Marner said of leaving his hometown of Toronto behind. “There were some dark times in the last couple of years.”

That's putting it lightly. Amid multiple failed postseason runs with the Maple Leafs, Marner had his address posted online, and admitted during the offseason that he at times felt unsafe in the city he grew up in.

Now, he has an opportunity to continue chasing a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knigh

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