Tuesday: Both sides have officially announced the one-for-one swap.
Monday, 6:45 p.m.: PuckPedia has shared the financial breakdown of Marner’s new deal with Vegas:
- Year 1: $4MM salary, $11MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 2: $4MM salary, $10MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 3: $4MM salary, $9.75MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 4: $4MM salary, $7.25MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 5: $5MM salary, $6MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 6: $5MM salary, $6MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 7: $5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 8: $5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
4:07 p.m.: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vegas Golden Knights have acquired forward Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Shortly thereafter, Friedman shared that Marner is expected to sign an eight-year, $96MM deal ($12MM AAV) with the Golden Knights. According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Nicolas Roy is the only player headed to the Maple Leafs in the reported deal, making it a one-for-one swap.
Arguably the league’s top available free agent since Artemi Panarin in 2019, the Golden Knights have assured that Marner won’t even reach unrestricted free agency. Marner will join a star-studded roster in Nevada that already includes Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Shea Theodore.
Unlike his situation in Toronto, Marner also joins a team that’s entrenched in winning. Without question, the most successful expansion team in NHL history, the Golden Knights have qualified for the postseason in seven out of their eight seasons, reaching three Western Conference Finals, two Stanley Cup Finals, and winning one Stanley Cup.
After the money is squared away, the Golden Knights should have approximately $2MM remaining in salary cap space. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is set to miss the entire 2025-26 season, potentially longer, providing Vegas with an added $8.8 million in flexibility. Coupled with Roy’s $3MM salary, the Golden Knights had plenty of flexibility to bring in Marner on a long-term contract. 
In Marner, Vegas will add one of the league’s premier playmakers to its already high-end offense. Since debuting for the Maple Leafs in the 2016-17 season, Marner has scored 221 goals and 741 points in 657 games, averaging 20:03 of ice time per night. Aside from his offensive capabilities, Marner is exceptional on the defensive puck, earning a +128 rating with a career 52.7% CorsiFor% at even strength and a 90.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
By re-signing Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith over the past two days, and adding Marner this afternoon, the Golden Knights have completely addressed their need for quality wingers before unrestricted free agency has even opened. Furthermore, with $2MM remaining in salary cap space, Vegas has some flexibility to add toward the bottom of their lineup, or to shore up their defensive core with cheaper deals.
Marner’s addition reaffirms the adage of the ’rich becoming richer’. The Golden Knights finished the 2024-25 campaign with the fifth-best goals scored average (3.34), third-best goals against average (2.61), second-best powerplay (28.34%), 13th-best shooting percentage (11.0%), ninth-best CorsiFor% (51.8%), and 11th-best in high-danger scoring chances (51.9%). Interestingly enough, despite being known for his offensive talents, Marner may help Vegas the most on the penalty kill, as they finished this past season ranked 26th with a 75.74% kill rate.
In terms of the salary cap, this deal is only likely to improve for the Golden Knights. Marner will earn 12.57% of Vegas’ available salary cap next year while watching that percentage drop to 10.57% in only two years. Considering that they’ll need a new contract for Eichel after next season, Vegas should be in good shape to retain both for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, Marner does carry some baggage when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Like the Maple Leafs, the Golden Knights are firmly within their competitive window and have been competing for the Stanley Cup since becoming a team less than a decade ago. Although he won’t deal with a similar media landscape in Vegas, Marner will have similar expectations regarding his postseason performances.
In fairness to Marner, he’s been a quality postseason player, just not to his standard. During his time in Toronto, Marner scored 13 goals and 63 points in 70 playoff games, achieving a +9 rating. Although this would be viewed as quality production for most players, it’s a 0.22 drop-off in point-per-game average compared to his regular-season output. Now cemented in Vegas for the prime years of his career, Marner will only have so many more chances to correct the version of himself as a player when hockey becomes as important as it ever can.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have done well by turning nothing into something. The likelihood of Marner staying in Toronto has been known for several weeks, and the Maple Leafs have made sure to get another asset in return rather than lose him for nothing. Unlike Marner, the player they’re acquiring from the Golden Knights has considerable postseason experience. 
Over the last four years, Roy has become a valuable third-line center in Vegas. He can play all three forward positions and can move up and down the lineup, making him an extremely versatile forward.
Since becoming a full-time player for the Golden Knights in the 2021-22 season, Roy has scored 57 goals and 141 points in 284 games with a +26 rating, averaging 15:48 of ice time per game. His playoff scoring has declined, with five goals and 15 points in 40 games, but he contributed to the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup victory in 2023. He should help create a stalwart third line in Toronto next to Max Domi and Scott Laughton.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Such trash. And then after they utilize the LTIR loophole for the last time in the playoffs, the NHL will bail them out some other way next year. Pathetic
Cry more 🤡
Are you jelly over the fact that the knights know what they are doing? Considering the leafs have had 3 gms and 3 coaches since the knights joined the NHL. They have been to the final twice. Where the last time the leafs won a cup my dad who turns 80 in a couple weeks was in high school?
Pieterangelo is finished. He’s never playing again
“the NHL will bail them out some other way next year.”
I love the VGK hate more and more because it progressively turns into just making sh** up to get mad about.
The league for sure rigged the expansion draft for them, and they have repeatedly cheated the salary cap using LTIR. They deserve the bad rep they have.
Solid tantrum. Don’t know why you get upset when a team makes a trade or uses the salary cap as it was collectively bargained but it is rather amusing. Oh, and why would 31 NHL owners agree to do favors for the Las Vegas franchise?
The league probably also gives their opponents a wider net.
That’s right about the Leafs. The bitter truth is that if Toronto actually managed to put everything together and not be the New York Mets of hockey then Marner would likely sign long term. The Golden Knights and LTIR only matter in this case because Marner was at the point by the end of the post season he wanted out.
hey defo, why didnt you complain about evander kane? or is it only when the knights do something. rent free
Idk how Vegas pulls this off every season. The free agent frenzy is gonna suck
Marchand resigned in Florida for 6 mil, tomorrow is going to be Hella boring
yeah it seems like they hate good players.i guess if they win w bums the FO looks better?
Such a boring outcome. I was hoping he played on either Bedard or Celebrini’s wing
I was hoping hed end up anywhere but Vegas
At least he got out of the Hell Hole Fish Bowl in Toronto
i guess the leafs didnt really want him if he would’ve signed for 8×12.
Or Marner didn’t want the leafs
neither the player nor team wanted to remain together.
Yeah, it had turned into a toxic relationship. Best for everyone that they both move on.
Don’t let the door hit you…
Could have been an all time great for an Original 6. Instead he bent his hometown, boyhood team over for every single dollar so he made the same as Matthews (ignoring he isn’t a C), never spoke for himself always hid through Dreger and others in the media and never took accountability. He’ll settle in nicely as a background guy, he isn’t made to lead.
As a wings fan — nobody cares about the original 6 lore. It means nothing to players.
Do you get that Toronto is on more no trade lists than any other team in the NHL. Nobody and I mean nobody wants to play in that city. Wanna blame someone. Blame the horrible media in that town.
I agree I am so SICK if the original 6 crap. That was 70 years ago. Get over yourselves
You can’t possibly know that Toronto is on the most no trade lists! Make up more things to make your point, why don’t you?
I am a fully credentialed nhl media member. It is not hard to find that information
Also get to a conference final. Then you can talk!!!!!!
Get over yourselves? Leafs and Rangers have kept the league propped up forever and allowed the expansion that’s happened due to basically being able to print money
Might also have something to do with tax implications and cost of living.
Cool, ignore that part and the rest still applies. How you grow up cheering for a team and then turn around and reject 13.5 to stay at home and maybe, just maybe allow the team to put some decent players around you is beyond me…
The reason why there was mass expansion in the west is because of the Gretzky trade. Not because of the Rangers and Leafs
no trade lists arent just due to player preferences, they’re used for leverage as well. it’s the bigger teams that tend to trade for marquee players so a lot of bigger teams will be featured on no trade lists as it gives players leverage over the teams in those scenarios. happens in every sport.
lots of players want to play in Toronto so soccer_ref is just wrong.
it’s not the centre of the hockey world like some Leaf fans believe, but a lot of players want to play for a team that has tons of sponsorship opportunities and amazing facilities.
as for the media, yes they and the fans are harsh, but if guys are afraid of that, maybe they are too soft. this is how the Leafs should gauge guys. can you handle the media? if you can’t, you aren’t winning material
a fully credentialed NHL media member posting comments in an online forum under not his real name? guess Marner isn’t the only one that’s soft and can’t handle criticism
Toronto just kinda sucks, and I say that as someone who has lived there. Hell, I was just doing construction work there last week. It’s got the worst traffic congestion in North America – it trades the top spot with LA – due to some truly abysmal urban design, the “culture” is extremely manufactured, the people are rude and racist, the cost of living is absolutely insane (a detached single family homes STARTS at around $1 million, forget luxury properties), the food isn’t even as good as smaller Ontario cities like Hamilton and Windsor, the media is aggressive and toxic (literally breaking into players’ back yards and photographing their families!) and that’s all BEFORE a tax rate that is higher than most US states. I think the rich should absolutely be taxed, but the 23-year-old star athlete probably doesn’t care.
Like I cannot think of a single good reason to move to Toronto. Nobody CHOOSES to be in Toronto. You go for the $150k salary at some tech company on Bay St. and live in your roach-infested condo, on a 3-year wait list for a parking spot, wondering where your life went wrong.
Oh and gotta mention too – no working people can even afford to SEE the Leafs. Half that arena is owned by corporations that give out tickets as bribes to other rich guys. If you’re a mechanic or a cook or a teacher, you cannot afford to see the Leafs. You go MAYBE once a year, $600 a ticket, so far away from the rink you might as well stream the game on your phone. Who would want to play for that crowd?
But this is exactly why Toronto region needs another team.
Actually, it’s a well known fact that Buffalo and Winnipeg are the top 2 teams on no trade lists
Players want to play in Toronto as a visiting team.
Why would you want to handle the media when you can go to LA and your kids are not being followed in their way home from school? People breaking into your back yards. Reporting that your wife is pregnant before she can tell her husband. Aka Carey Price in Montreal.
Horrible fans
Horrible media
No privacy
Corporate ownership
Criticism up the wazu
High taxes
Horrible weather
Can’t win Jack
Sounds like some great reasons to play in Toronto.
Sure you are. If you are as NHL savvy as you claim, you would know that the expansion from the Original Six to twelve occurred 58 years ago.
The Original 6 was from how many years ago? And the Leafs haven’t been relevant outside of Toronto in decades either.
It was time for both parties to move on. Neither was finding playoff success with the other.
Thought he will get 12mill
LAME!!!!!!!
Nevada is a no-income tax state too. Nice deal for Marner leaving Toronto (aka New New Delhi)
LMAO
Vegas wins. What else do you want? Nice weather, no crazy media, low state tax. What else do you want?
Everyone saying that Marner should have stayed mortal to give the Leafs a “hometown discount” needs to give their head a shake.
Jays
Could not have said it better myself. The man can now go out to dinner and not be bothered by insane fans and TMZ type media.
Nice weather is a stretch…
Vegas in January > Toronto in January
yes listen to Kyle all you californians and midwesterners moving here…the weather sucks! go away!
Don’t let the heat get to your head… No one from California is moving to Vegas for the weather.. Love the move for the Knights though.
It was only a matter of time before Mitch Marner ended up in Vegas. Vegas only had $2.1M in cap space. They obviously had to trade Nicolas Roy’s $3M off the cap to Toronto & if they moved Alex Pietrangelo to LTIR for his $8.8M that would give Vegas $13.9M in cap space to give Marner his $12M AAV. That’s just one way to work it. I haven’t seen the details of the deal as of this writing.
It’s a really good pick up by Vegas & even better for Marner having no state tax to worry about.
Definitely an interesting move for Vegas, i’m sure they’ll put him on the IR at some point just to save a cap space. I’m curious to see the chemistry between him and Eichel.
I don’t mind all of the free agents signing today.
Hopefully tomorrow turns into “Trade Too Much for Penguins’ Veteran Players Frenzy” instead.
I hope he stinks.
Unsure how Vegas will be under the cap in 26-27….league needs to clean this crap up.
Clean up what, exactly?
You wiped your face yet?
Great response. “I don’t really know what the problem is, I just know it’s super unfair.”
Tough losing a guy like Roy, but they landed the big UFA fish.
Obvious he’s no Marner, but I think Leafs fans will like Roy.
Let’s face it Gary Bettman ruined the NHL. All these expansion teams that were gifted players from other teams, giving them high draft picks, allowing them to build a team with a full salary cap from starting at 0, a salary cap, etc. The NHL is nothing but a Woke filled joke organization of soft players and fans. They can’t even get a national network to carry there games. I wish the original 6 would leave the NHL and start there own league and go back to the same style of play and rules that made the NHL. This garbage today is hard to watch!!!!!!
Ok, bye.
time to go to bed old man
We really are at a point where calling something “woke” makes the rest of your argument look completely stupid.
Vegas benefitted from a period of time where you could definitely argue there was more NHL talent than there were teams to hire them. Seattle had an expansion draft too… They have made the playoffs ONCE and been thoroughly mid every other year.
You are literally angry about things that aren’t real.
The NHL is so watered down. The overall play sucks. The way they hand out huge contracts to mediocre guys is ignorant. The fan base is deteriorating and the interest in the league has dwindled so much that the wnba has a national tv contract and they don’t. The Canadian teams can’t compete salary wise because of the financials, etc. Teams like Vegas will come crashing down once the bill comes due for the long term signings. Causing teams to relocate or just go under. Nobody is going to pay $300 a ticket to watch this garbage league full of Europeans for much longer.
Grandpa take your medicine.
God I hope you’re a LSU Tigers fan….cause the thought of you making Detroit fans look this stupid is kinda infuriating
You pay $2,000,000,000 US to get an expansion team, you would have to think that the NHL would give said party to get a competitive team to ice. Just saying. It’s not 1969 expansion.
Interested to see how VGK cheats the cap going into next season.
I’m interested to see how they win the cup too
Happy to move on and I’m sure a number of his former teammates are too. He’s not replaceable 1 v 1 with what’s available, but in the aggregate, I’m certain it’ll open up some different, exciting options. Marner has always lacked the mental toughness to survive in this market.
Enjoy Vegas, Mitch. And Vegas, enjoy his lunatic handlers who will reveal their true colours at the first sign of adversity.
I don’t like sign and trades already. Ridiculous no one else gets a chance to get a guy. Ruins the point of free agency too
I mean if the player decides he wants to forgo that, it’s his right no?
Do you think Vegas would have made this deal without knowing he was signed? This is on all sides. TML didn’t want to lose him for nothing, Vegas wanted him, but not at FA value, and Mitch wanted to be on a select few group of teams. It seems like Mitch never really wanted to be a leaf the way he structured his contracts. 1 year out of UFA eligibility and he’s slated for a month term suddenly after not wanting to sign a max term before.
I love to hear Leafs fans whine and cry. It is music to my ears. Remember according to Leafs fans. Every player wants to sign with Toronto or every player is getting traded there for a 7th round pick in 2137
Roy better be really versatile. He might have to play all three positions at once . Marner moves to a team that have 3 zone defensively responsible players and a D that can move the puck and take care of their own end . He won’t know what to do with himself . Won’t have to play top Pk . Dudes going to crush .
welcome to Vegas, where our motto is “one Cup is enough”
Welcome to Toronto, where our motto is “haven’t won a cup since the Johnson administration”
Regardless of the sign and trade going down, there had to be some type of communication (collusion) between Marner and Vegas prior to the announcement, which is illegal. Here’s to hoping the league doesn’t brush it under the rug, again.
It really depends on when the communication took place. EVERY team talks to pending free agents before free agency actually starts. Otherwise you wouldn’t see guys signing within minutes of the free agency period.
Look….I COMPLETELY understand all the VGK HATE! I’m an AVS fan, I hate em! And they’ve OBVIOUSLY cheated the LTIR loophole multiple times! BUT, there are 31 other teams in the league with the same opportunity to do so! If everyone else started doing it too, then the league would make the necessary changes to close said loophole(s)! No sense in whining about it! VGK just plays the behind the curtain game BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE!!! 1000%! And kudos to them! This ain’t the National “Morality” Hockey League!