Double Trouble: Lightning Forward Dominic James Levels Mitch Marner Twice With Authority

Mitch Marner's nine-year tenure with the Maple Leafs ended dramatically at the end of June when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nicolas Roy.

While everyone believed that was the end of a contentious, exhausting relationship between Marner, the Leafs, and fans, his trade to Vegas was only a temporary pause.

During Team Canada's orientation camp at the end of August, Marner blamed fans of the Maple Leafs for his departure, which resulted in a tremendous amount of backlash from those fans and the Toronto media.

As he tried to walk back his comments, he continued to shoot himself in the foot, as his remarks only made things worse.

When Amazon Prime debuted the trailer for season two of "Faceoff: Inside the NHL", a clip of Marner yelling at his teammates to start hitting everyone went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The media and fans were quick to jump at Marner for his ironic comments, telling his team to hit everyone, given that he was one of the least physical players on the Leafs at the time.

While surrounded by drama, no one denies that Marner is a spectacular player, tallying 10 points through his first 9 games with the Vegas Golden Knights.

On Sunday, however, the 28-year-old was welcomed back to the Atlantic division by Lightning rookie Dominic James with a pair of heavy hits that both landed with authority on the former Leafs star.

In the first instance, Marner was looking for the puck in his feet when James exploded into him and sent the former Leafs star flying into the boards. Moments later, the Knights forward attempted to get some revenge, only to be met by another stiff shoulder from James that once again sent him getting the worst of the exchange and falling to the ice.

While fans of the Maple Leafs may have a disdain for the Lightning, some were certainly thrilled to see Marner on the receiving end of two massive hits -- and for the Golden Knights to fall 2-1 in overtime.

For Marner, he was able to escape injury, but it's more than likely that he's feeling those pair of heavy hits this morning.