"It's amazing to me listening to grown-ass men, who have families and important jobs, and they're like, 'I can't believe he might win a Stanley Cup.
It's just awful,'" said Jeff O'Neill, a former NHL player turned radio and television analyst at TSN in Canada.
Marner spent nine seasons in Toronto, where off-ice pressures, a high salary, and personal security concerns ultimately led to his departure.
"The market's very passionate. They love the team.
I was born and raised there. I've been a part of the Leafs Nation for a long time," Marner said.
"But when your family's safety comes into question, especially having a new son, I don't think it's acceptable."
An anonymous former teammate shared insight regarding the immense pressure placed on high-earning players in the Toronto market.
"When you have those aspirations as a team, that's always who's going to get the fingers pointed at them when things fall short," an NHL player who played in Toronto with Marner told ESPN.
Reflecting on his historic postseason scoring streak with Vegas, Marner emphasized a simplified approach to his game.
"I feel like I just want to go out there and play my game. I feel like I've been doing that for a while.
I know probably people think the results weren't coming in the past.
Sometimes that's what happens," Marner said after a hat trick in Game 3 of the series against Anaheim.
"I just try to go out there and do the thing I do."
