Mitch Marner Speaks Out After Welcoming His Baby Boy in Heartwarming Moment

While the playoffs are part of the biggest event of the entire hockey season, nothing is more important than family.

Mitch Marner is fully aware of this, as the star forward had to miss practice on Sunday due to the birth of his new son, Miles.

It was a momentous occasion for the Marner family, and all we can hope is that everyone is healthy, happy, and safe.

It's certainly a huge motivator for Mitch this postseason (and beyond), and speaking to the media after practice on Monday ahead of Game One against Florida; you can tell he was elated:

Marner was also prepared if his wife had given birth during the first round, however it looks like the timing couldn't have been any better.

It's also something the forward acknowledged too, admitting his son must have had some foresight as to when he was to arrive.

It's a huge moment in Marner's life and he joins several of his teammates who recently had children including Morgan Rielly and Simon Benoit.

While it can be difficult to manage both a workload and a home life with a new baby, if anyone can handle it, it's the Leafs star forward.

It's also a bit of a wild 48 hours as well, not only with the birth of his child, the first game of the second round, and he is celebrating his 28th birthday on Monday, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Marner.

The best gift that Marner could have received was the healthy birth of child, no doubt.

But another great present would be if he and the Maple Leafs can come out firing on all cylinders against Florida and make sure their lives are as miserable as possible.

That means Marner as well as Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann, Max Domi et al need to start scoring in bunches.

The stars showed promise in the first round, now it's time for the secondary players to help out against Florida; but things won't be easy.

The Panthers feel like they have an unfair advantage, using insider knowledge to gain the upper hand on the Leafs, but if the team can keep their emotions and discipline in check, it might be a closer series than some anticipate.

Marner is solely focused now on making sure the Maple Leafs can get themselves past Florida in the second round, but his new baby boy could give him the motivation to shift that focus into another gear.