Mitch Marner opened up about his mental health and the dark times he went through in Toronto

Well, we got the supposed dark times that occurred for Mitch Marner and it shone a new light on the mental health aspect of being a professional athlete.

Marner's 'dark times' comment was something that the hockey world was curious about ever since he dropped a hint ahead of the Stanley Cup Final that he would elaborate if he were to win. He didn't and then he refused to talk to the media after the game, as he wanted to take time to regroup after failing to win the big one.

But Marner did have a chance to speak to the media on Tuesday as the Golden Knights had their final exits and locker room clean-out. There was a lot of attention on the forward after he got so close, and many were wondering how he would respond.

All credit to Marner though, he managed to be very truthful and up front about how things went down, and actually did end up elaborating on the dark times he felt in Toronto. While many pointed to this being security-related or something to do with the fanbase - it was actually his own head.

Mitch Marner revealed he was struggling with mental health issues over the past several years

Marner explained that he dealt with some pretty tough mental health issues during his time in Toronto and that it was his teammates who helped him get through the toughest battles:

Mental health is a super important thing to me. It really is. I've been really trying to take care of my mental health probably for the last five years or so. I'm really thankful that I had some unbelievable teammates around me in Toronto that I was able to talk to and express myself to.

There were some really dark moments there when the thought of playing hockey was really tough, honestly, in a lot of ways. It was just kind of a dark vibe, a dark hole in a way. I'm very thankful that I had people around me. Teammates asked me how I was doing and knew that I was going through something, and that I could talk to them.

It's always important to check in on your friends, your family, and the people around you.

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Marner then went onto elaborate further that mental health these days is often overlooked and his ability to turn off the negativity and try to focus on himself helped make those rough days a little easier to stomach:

Mental health is a thing in this day and age that gets talked about, but it's still overlooked in a lot of ways.

I think a lot of us are addicted to the social media aspect of things. You're seeing a lot of comments and a lot of things about yourself. I tried to check myself out of that over the last two or three years and really just try to get off it. I think that's helped in a lot of ways.

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It's actually quite eye-opening to see Marner's honesty and while there were certainly things to point to about him producing; if his head wasn't in the game then it would be hard to take over.

Marner credited his Toronto teammates for helping him and it sheds a new light on how a locker room operates

But Marner's struggles would have been a lot worse had he not had his teammates by his side, and he credits them with helping him get through things. It means a lot that you have people who care about your well-being off the ice and it shows that a locker room is more than just a place to change.

One of Marner's former teammates who would've been key in helping him would no doubt have been Joseph Woll. The now-former Maple Leafs goalie has been public about his struggles with mental health and even put out a personal incentive.

For every home game Woll won, he would donate $5,000 to the Canadian Association for Mental Health (CAMH). He raised over $80,000 in the 2024-25 season and is a player who has praised the importance of mental health.

It's those teammates that helped Marner through. He is a superstar for sure, but he's also a human being before anything else. Who knows what was said to Marner or even what's going on his own head - even he didn't know sometimes and we have to realize the human element of the situation.

For all the criticism Marner may get for his inability to produce during tough times, we have to recognize that those tough times aren't just on the ice, and it takes more than a Stanley Cup to quell those dark times.

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