LAS VEGAS — Once again, Kelly McCrimmon got his man.
It wasn’t easy. It took some fancy footwork with the salary cap, but Mitch Marner is a Vegas Golden Knight.
The 28-year-old forward, who is coming off a career-best season which saw him register 105 points and was set to be the top unrestricted free agent come Tuesday, was signed to an eight-year deal by the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday, then traded to Vegas for center Nicolas Roy. He’ll likely be paired with center Jack Eichel on Bruce Cassidy’s top line.
Neither the team nor the NHL has officially announced the trade. But there have been multiple reports that the Leafs have dealt Marner to Vegas. McCrimmon was not made available for comment Monday at City National Arena where the Knights were conducting Day One of their development camp.
The Knights needed to upgrade their offense, particularly scoring on the wings and in Marner, they get one of the NHL’s top point producers, someone who can play on special teams and will undoubtedly help an already potent power play that was ranked No. 2 in the league last season.
To clear cap space to fit Marner in, the Knights traded defenseman Nicolas Hague to Nashville late Sunday night for veteran forward Colton Sissons and experienced defenseman Jeremy Lauzon. The Predators are paying half of Sissons’ $2.85 million salary which helps Vegas have more room for Marner.
But the big move, the one that allowed McCrimmon to do the deal with Toronto for Marner was Alex Pietrangelo's decision to leave hockey temporarily and go on LTIR. The 35-year-old defenseman makes $8.8 million and had two years left on his deal. In doing so, his $8.8 million doesn’t count against the salary cap and Vegas had the room to accommodate Marner, whose average annual value over the life of the deal is expected to be $12 million.
In a statement released by the team Monday, Pietrangelo said: “The past few years have been very challenging on my physical well-being, and I am in a difficult position with my overall playing health. After exploring options with doctors as well as my family, it’s been advised to remove the intensity of hockey to see if my body can improve so that I can return to a normal quality of life.
"This decision has been difficult to come to terms with after the last 17 years of competition and the camaraderie with my teammates and coaches. The likelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play, but I know this is the right decision for me and my family.”
McCrimmon said: “Alex has our organization’s full support in prioritizing his long-term health and quality of life. Alex is dealing with hips that would require bilateral femur reconstruction, with no guarantee of success. Throughout the season, the steps that Alex needed to take to be able to play and practice began to grow and take a significant toll on his body.
"Our hope in February during the NHL’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off was to give Alex treatment and rest to help provide relief, but instead, what we found were diminished positive results and a process that is no longer sustainable moving forward.
"Alex has given everything to the game and to the Golden Knights and has played through significant challenges in the pursuit of trying to win another Stanley Cup in Vegas. He is one of the most respected players in the league, not only for his elite talent but for his character, leadership, competitiveness, and professionalism. Today’s decision is a difficult one for both Alex and the Golden Knights, but it is being made for the right reasons – so that Alex can be the family man we all know him to be.”
With Pietrangelo not on the ice, trading for the 28-year-old Lauzon, who has over 300 games of NHL experience with Boston, where he played for Cassidy, and later, Seattle and Nashville gives Vegas someone who can play regular minutes as a likely third-D pairing with Ben Hutton or Kaedan Korczak.
The team also made qualifying offers Monday to defenseman Lukas Cormier and forwards Alexander Holtz, Jonas Rondbjerg, Cole Schwindt and Raphael Lavoie — all RFAs.
But the big prize is Marner.
His presence gives Vegas a 1-2 punch with Eichel that can rival anyone in the NHL, particularly division rival Edmonton which boasts Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Cassidy coached Marner at February’s 4 Nations Face-Off when the two were on Team Canada so he’s somewhat familiar with Marner and his skills.
Monday’s news had a ripple effect in Las Vegas’ sports books. The Westgate installed the Golden Knights as 7-1 co-favorites with two-time defending champion Florida to win the 2026 Stanley Cup. The Knights were 10-1 prior to making the deal.
The Knights have made big moves in their eight-year history. They brought in Mark Stone. They brought in Max Pacioretty. Pietrangelo was a major acquisition. And the Eichel deal was a blockbuster. But in acquiring Marner, they are getting an elite player in his prime who has averaged 25.5 goals and 82 points over his nine seasons with Toronto.
And by trading for Marner instead of acquiring him via free agency, which begins Tuesday, the Knights were able to get Marner for eight years instead of seven, the maximum allowed for a UFA.
That’s big as the team will be looking to sign Eichel to an eight-year extension sooner rather than later. Eichel said at the end of the season that he hopes to stay in Vegas for the remainder of his career and McCrimmon will need to find a way to make that happen. And now that Marner’s in the fold, GMKM can find the right price to keep Eichel in a Golden Knights sweater.
It once again solidified the organization’s reputation to go after high-priced talent when it thinks it makes the most sense and can give it the best chance of competing for the Stanley Cup. The Knights have always been in win-now mode and that was never more evident than on Monday.
For Marner, there’s still one piece of business to take care of once he arrives in town. Can he convince Pavel Dorofeyev, who currently wears No. 16, to give up the number for him? Fortunately for Marner, he’s got $12 million to work with in negotiating with the team’s top goal scorer to secure No. 16. And there’s no salary cap when it comes to uniform numbers.