LAS VEGAS — It’s pretty clear that after nine frustrating years of trying to bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto and please the demanding Maple Leafs fan base, Mitch Marner was ready for a change of scene.
Boy, is he getting that.
The 28-year-old forward who signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Leafs then was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for center Nicolas Roy, got a taste of what life in the desert is going to be like Tuesday when he met the media for his introductory press conference at City National Arena.
It was 103 degrees, somewhat humid and storm clouds lurking, rain trying to spritz from the sky. Pretty much a crappy weather day by any standards. But as he gets acclimated to his new life in Southern Nevada, Marner can expect it to get hotter, not abating until opening night in early October yet still warm.
But when you’re making $12 million a year, you can afford an expensive electric bill from NV Energy as you keep your air conditioner on at full blast.
“You want to win the Stanley Cup,” Marner said Tuesday, wearing his new No. 93 gold VGK sweater at his introductory news conference. “This team has shown it can do that.
“This is a spot that was at the top of my list. My wife and I wanted to be here.”
And so he is. This made as much sense for the Golden Knights to acquire Marner as it did for Marner to move on with his hockey career. Let’s face it, 100-point scorers don’t grow on trees and if you’re in a position to get one, you do it.
Which is exactly what general manager Kelly McCrimmon did. His pursuit of Marner goes back to last season when the Leafs reached out to him to gauge his interest in the star forward who was going to be a pending UFA. They couldn’t get a deal done at the trade deadline in March, but as the season wrapped up, the talks were renewed and eventually a deal was made late Friday night but wasn’t officially announced by the team until early Tuesday.
And when defenseman Alex Pietrangelo agreed to go on LTIR and it freed up $8.8 million in space in the team’s salary cap, the last piece was in place and Marner was leaving Toronto for Vegas.
By working out a trade, McCrimmon spared the Knights the possibility of not getting Marner had he gone to market Tuesday and a team overwhelmed him with a deal he couldn't refuse. Or it could have put Vegas in a bidding war that would've been more costly to obtain Marner had it been successful in getting him.
“We wanted to improve our offense on the wing and Mitch Marner does that,” McCrimmon said. “We’re getting one of the best forwards in the National Hockey League.”
They’re getting a forward who registered a career-high 105 points last season and helped Toronto get to the Eastern Conference Finals. A player who is an excellent penalty killer and should have no trouble fitting into the team’s culture and performing for Cassidy, regardless of where he plays in the lineup.
“I knew him from playing against him when he was in Boston and I got to know him with Team Canada,” Marner said of Cassidy. “He’s a down-to-earth person and I’m looking forward to playing for him.”
With Jack Eichel and Marner, the Knights have an explosive 1-2 offensive punch. They also have two strong defensive players. Don’t be surprised to see them out together killing penalties or perhaps Marner pairing with Colton Sissons, another excellent penalty killer who the Knights obtained Sunday from Nashville along with Jeremy Lauzon in exchange for Nic Hague.
While McCrimmon and the Knights did their homework on Marner, Marner did his due diligence on Vegas. He talked to Toronto teammates Ryan Reaves and Max Pacioretty about what it’s like to live and plays in Vegas and both former Golden Knights players gave their approval. That was important in Marner deciding to come play here.
He’ll find that Las Vegas is comfortable with stars, be it in sports or entertainment. He and his wife Stephanie and their newborn son Miles who will be two months old on Friday, have already been welcomed by his new teammates and their spouses. He’ll have his privacy and be able to enjoy his celebrity here.
Put it this way, the microscope he was under in Toronto doesn’t exist here in Vegas.
For VGK fans, it means the team kept its promise to upgrade its roster and continue to be competitive in terms of playing for and winning a Stanley Cup.
“I think we’re comfortable where we’re at with our roster on July 1,” McCrimmon said.
And why shouldn’t he be? He just added one of the NHL’s elite players to that roster.