The grass isn't always greener: Mitch Marner may suddenly regret leaving the Maple Leafs

The big story for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and perhaps even the entire league, over the summer was the departure of star player Mitch Marner.

Seemingly tired of bearing a lot of the blame for the Leafs' failure to go deep in the post-season, Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights with a freshly signed eight-year contract worth $96 million.

Marner is now finding out that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Marner got off to a really hot start with his new team, which should come as no surprise given the depth of the Golden Knights lineup. However, he has cooled off as of late, and is currently on pace for 78 points on the season.

If he continues on that pace, it would be the first time since his second season in the NHL that he didn't score at least a point-per-game. That was the 2017-18 year. It's worth noting that his ice-time has not dropped from last season with the Maple Leafs.

With a reporter recently expressing concern over Auston Matthews, it's safe to say that Marner misses Matthews as much as Matthews misses him.

Marner and Matthews together made for a dynamic duo that was hard to control on the ice, regardless of who was placed next to them to fill out the line. It seems the split is impacting both players.

Marner still has time to improve on his totals for this season, but leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs may also go down as one of the worst mistakes he has ever made.