Maple Leafs Drama Explodes as Marner's Alleged Jealousy of Matthews Comes to Light

After nine years, Mitch Marner is officially gone from Toronto, with the hometown kid failing to help his team reach the Stanley Cup Finals (or even Eastern Conference Finals) during his tenure.

This summer, it became clear he was on the way out, and while he did make a sign-and-trade happen with the Golden Knights, he's now a rival of the team, bringing out plenty of hatred in this passionate fanbase.

Now, a person in that fanbase has revealed the jealousy that Marner potentially had for Auston Matthews throughout his time with the team, all over Entry Level Contract bonuses from early in their respective careers.

According to one user, the extra bonuses that Matthews got on his ELC ate Marner alive throughout his career in Toronto, with the star forward likely to have left the team the last time he was a free agent if he didn't get such a big deal with the team.

Unsurprisingly, fans were furious when Marner pushed his way out, and this has made it even worse, with many of them calling him out for his perceived jealousy in the comments.

There could be nuances to this story, sure, but on paper it doesn't look fantastic, and after Matthews was handed the captaincy and given the record-breaking contract, it's easy to see what Marner's jealousy grew over the years.

Ultimately, Marner became the scapegoat for so much post-season failure in Toronto, so there's no surprise that he wanted out, but with this jealousy coming to the surface, it shows that in some ways, he's always wanted out, and that his partnership with Matthews wasn't quite as steady as many believed.