Maple Leafs star Mitchell Marner made his first public comments on Wednesday after he was a victim of a carjacking in Toronto on Monday night.
“To all the fans, my friends and teammates, and the entire Maple Leafs organization — thank you for all your positive messages over the last few days,” Marner wrote on social media. “The overwhelming support I have felt from the Toronto community has been unbelievable.
“I’d also like to thank Toronto Police Services for all their hard work in the ongoing investigation.
“It was a scary situation to be in, but we’re safe and doing well. Thank you all — your support has meant the world to us.”
— Mitchell Marner (@Marner93) May 18, 2022
The Leafs had previously announced that Marner would not be speaking during the team’s end-of-season media availability on Tuesday and had been advised by Toronto police not to address the incident itself publicly as they continue to investigate.
Police are still searching for three suspects who were armed with knives and a handgun when they approached Marner and his fiancée at a Toronto-area movie theatre around 7:45 p.m. Monday. The suspects took Marner’s vehicle as he was said to have complied with all the carjackers’ requests.
While Marner did not address reporters on Tuesday, his teammates reported Marner to be in good spirits.
“I’m just happy he’s OK and he wasn’t hurt,” Auston Matthews said. “I don’t really know much more than you guys do, but it’s great to see him here today. I can’t imagine that’s a fun experience to go through. We’re all just glad he’s OK.”
Added Jason Spezza: “It’s scary; that’s [real] life. That’s not hockey. That’s scary. That stuff is jarring. So happy to see that he’s OK.”
Marner, who grew up in the Greater Toronto Area, tallied a career-high 97 points this season and added two goals and six assists in the postseason.
The Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.