Mitch Marner buries Maple Leafs after returning from Four Nations.

I can only imagine just how cathartic the victory for Canada at the Four Nations Face-Off must have been for Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner.

After years of failing to find success in the biggest and most important games, Marner would prove to be a major factor for the Canadian squad at the Four Nations Face-Off. Marner, who has often been criticized for disappearing during the most important games of his career, was nothing short of clutch in the tournament with an overtime winning goal during the round robin stage and the primary assist on the tournament winning goal from Canada's Connor McDavid.

Marner all but confirmed as much on Monday when he spoke to the media about what the tournament had meant to him and the rest of his family, with Marner even accidentally throwing the Maple Leafs under the bus as he reflected on just how hard the lack of success in meaningful games had been for him and his family in recent years.

"It was really special," admitted Marner on Monday. "It's been a long time since we've been able to celebrate something really special, and hockey-wise, winning. It felt really cool just to have them around me with how much sacrifice and effort they put in throughout my whole life to get me to the point where I am today.

"It was really cool just to have them beside me and see the smiles and feel the emotion that they were feeling for me and the excitement. It was a really cool thing to celebrate with them after that."

Marner has achieved championship success previously in his hockey career, doing so with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League as well as with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, but has been unable to replicate that success as a member of the Maple Leafs.

It seems beyond question now that this has taken a toll on Marner over the years but with the monkey now off his back it will be fun to watch if his success at the Four Nations Face-Off translates to even more success in the National Hockey League.