HIGHLIGHTS
- Golden Knights land Mitch Marner in sign-and-trade
- Mitch Marner played nine seasons in Toronto
- Read below for more on Vegas’ big move
Mitch Marner won’t hit the open market, after all. He has signed an eight-year extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Vegas Golden Knights.
We listed the Golden Knights as the top potential landing spot for Marner earlier this summer, and Vegas went out to make the huge move.
Marner is coming off a career year in which he hit the 100-point mark for the first time, finishing with 27 goals and a career-high 75 assists for 102 points in 81 games.
The Ontario native played 657 regular-season games for his hometown team across nine seasons. He compiled 221 goals and 520 assists for 741 points in that span, an 82-game average of 92 points (28 goals and 65 assists).
The Golden Knights had to make some cap space to land Marner, and a part of that is sending Nicolas Roy the other way to Toronto. Roy has a $3 million cap hit through the end of the 2026-27 season.
Marner joins a Vegas squad that has consistently been a team to watch in the Western Conference. After missing the playoffs in the 2021-22 season, the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023, played a tough Dallas Stars team to seven games in 2024, and lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round this past season.
The Golden Knights are adding a huge offensive weapon in Marner. Jack Eichel was far and away the Knights’ best player last season with 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 77 games. The next-highest total was Mark Stone with 67 points in 66 games, and then Tomas Hertl with 61 points in 73 games.
Marner and Eichel will form quite the dynamic duo on the top line for Vegas, but it could only be for one year as the center is a pending free agent in 2026.
But for now, the Vegas Golden Knights are going to once again be one of the top teams to watch, especially with Marner in the fold.
