Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews shares true feelings on Mitch Marner’s Stanley Cup Final run

The Toronto Maple Leafs faced off against the Vegas Golden Knights in their previous game, but before the matchup, Auston Matthews was asked about one of his former teammates. After being traded to the Golden Knights before last season , Mitch Marner was able to make it to the Stanley Cup Final, but unfortunately his team lost to the Carolina Panthers.

For Matthews, he was happy to see his Marner be able to make it that far, and he spoke about their relationship before they faced off.

"Personally, as a friend, I was happy for him. We still keep in touch. Great person, great teammate, great friend. Personally, I was really happy for him," Matthews said.

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Matthews and Marners spent nine seasons together as teammates on the Maple Leafs. There still seems to be a lot of love between the two, whether they're on the same team or facing off against each other.

Matthews is trying to get the Maple Leafs to the playoffs after they failed to make it last season, and his comments before the season should make fans feel confident that it could happen.

"I feel like coming back here now, probably the best I've felt in a long time," Matthews said.

Injuries set Matthews back last season, as he only played in 60 games.

"The first couple weeks were probably the hardest, because you can't really do much and you're in quite a bit of pain," Matthews said. "You're still kind of processing … everything that happened. But the rehab and everything flew by, and I was really happy with how I felt at the end of the three-month mark."

If Matthews can stay healthy this time around, the hope is that the Maple Leafs can have an improved season.