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One day before NHL free agency begins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights struck gold on a blockbuster trade.
The Maple Leafs dealt All-Star forward Mitch Marner to the Knights, ESPN reported Monday.
Marner was about to test free agency for the first time, but this is expected to be a sign-and-trade. It’s unknown what Marner’s new deal will be.
In return, the Leafs are getting center Nic Roy, who just finished his sixth year in Las Vegas and eighth overall in the NHL after spending his first two with the Carolina Hurricanes. Roy scored 15 goals and dished out 16 assists for 31 points in 71 games for the Knights during the 2024-25 season.
Meanwhile, Marner finished his six-year restricted deal with the Maple Leafs, the team he grew up rooting for as a Markham, Ontario, native. Marner’s deal was a salary-cap hit per season at $10.9 million.
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The 28-year-old tallied 741 points over his nine years with the organization, including 102 last season with 27 goals and 75 assists over 81 regular-season games.
During the playoffs, Marner only scored twice, but he had 11 assists for a total 13 points in 13 games for Toronto.
Marner was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Maple Leafs, and he’s been worth that first-round selection given his production output each season. But as Toronto continues to search for that Stanley Cup Final run, a prime contributor on the offensive end moves on to start a new chapter elsewhere in the league.
The Knights, led by veteran head coach Bruce Cassidy, won the Cup during the 2022-23 season — just six years after its inaugural season as an expansion franchise. They actually went to the Stanley Cup Final during that 2017-18 campaign under Gerard Gallant’s leadership.
Vegas went 50-22 last season, but ultimately had the same fate as Toronto, losing in the second round. The Knights fell to the eventual back-to-back Western Conference-champion Edmonton Oilers, who fell to the Florida Panthers once again in the Stanley Cup Final.
Marner now joins top talent like Jack Eichel, Mark Ston, Tomáš Hertl and more next season.
And with the Marner question answered, the Maple Leafs can focus their priorities elsewhere with free agency beginning at noon on July 1.
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