The Maple Leafs are getting roasted over what many are calling the worst trade of the year

Mitch Marner's name is back in Toronto Maple Leafs headlines, and this time his own agent lit the fuse.

Darren Ferris sat down for an interview and it did not land well for anyone involved.

Ferris told the outlet Marner was never protected by his organization, pointing straight back at his entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs.

He also spent a chunk of the interview patting himself on the back. None of it happened by accident, Ferris said, listing the offer sheet, the sign-and-trade, and the record defenceman deal he negotiated.

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Columnist Chris McCluskey did not let that slide. He called the performance rock bottom for publicity and said Ferris keeps fanning a fire that should have gone out months ago.

Ferris also denied Marner was house hunting in Vegas before the trade went through. Then, almost in the same breath, he said it is normal for players to look around while on the road.

That answer raises more questions than it settles. Does it sound familiar? It reads a lot like the Vegas realtor nobody believed anymore.

Marner's numbers make the exit sting even more

Because here is the part that actually stings in Toronto. Marner is putting up 80 points with the Vegas Knights this season, 24 goals and 56 assists across 81 games, with a plus-17 rating.

That production carries a 12,000,000 dollar cap hit, and the Vegas Knights have gotten every bit of value, riding a three-game win streak with a 7-0-3 mark over their last 10.

Toronto has not written that same story. The Maple Leafs are stuck on a seven-game losing streak, going 2-7-1 over their last 10 under head coach Jim Hiller.

Both meetings against the Vegas Knights this season ended in Toronto losses, an overtime defeat on the road and a 3-6 setback at home.

Ferris closed the interview by pointing at Toronto's front office for how the Marner era actually ended there. He did not stop at the coaching staff.

A good representative usually finds ways to lower the temperature on a story like this. Ferris did the opposite, and Toronto fans noticed immediately.