The Vegas Golden Knights have never shied away from aggressive roster reconstruction.
After falling to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round and being shut out in the final two games, general manager Kelly McCrimmon appears to have the green light to make another major move. He did so at the 2024 trade deadline, acquiring defenseman Noah Hanifin and swinging a massive last-minute deal for forward Tomas Hertl. Now, despite cap space being reserved for extensions on Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev, as well as limited assets from years of wheeling and dealing, the Golden Knights appear poised to go big-game hunting this offseason.
To the surprise of no one, the Golden Knights are reportedly in on arguably the biggest fish of the offseason.
The Golden Knights could be pursuing an option to guarantee themselves a shot at the biggest free agent on the market.
After years of playoff futility, it appears as though Toronto Maple Leafs star winger Mitch Marner is open to the idea of leaving Canada.
It is unsurprising that Marner wants to see his value on the open market, coming off a season where he scored a career-high 102 points. Also, despite the derision he received for the constant failures of the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, Marner scored 13 points in as many games this postseason, as well as 63 points in 70 career playoff games. Unsurprisingly, teams are lining up for the opportunity to make their pitch to Marner, and the forward is expected to eclipse the seven-year, $81.5 million deal for Artemi Panarin to the New York Rangers as the richest deal signed in free agency.
The Golden Knights are expected to be in on Marner, and they may be willing to take an extra step to do it. According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the Leafs could be looking at a deal that sees Marner’s negotiating rights sent to Vegas.
Why would Vegas do this and what would the deal be like?
Vegas securing Marner’s negotiating rights would go a long way towards ensuring he is a Golden Knight in 2025 and beyond.
First of all, the Knights would no longer have to wait until July 1 when free agency opens up to talk to Marner, giving them an exclusive window to negotiate with the star winger. Also, the Golden Knights would get an edge on the competition by being the only team to offer Marner a maximum eight-year contract. If they elected to wait in free agency, the most Vegas or any other team could offer is a seven-year deal, leading to the Golden Knights being embroiled in a heated bidding war.
However, according to Puckpedia, the Golden Knights only have $9.6 million in cap space to work with this offseason, and Marner’s expected AAV is well over that mark. As a result, the Golden Knights will have to move players to make room for Marner’s deal, as well as give them some financial breathing room.
While Toronto will clamor for William Karlsson, Vegas has some pieces that could be of more interest to the Leafs. Reportedly, Toronto was the runner-up to sign defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in 2020 and trading for forward Ivan Barbashev in 2023, and both won a Stanley Cup with current Leafs head coach Craig Berube with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. With both players on significant cap hits, they could be options to dangle in front of Toronto if Marner’s negotiating rights are part of a larger ‘hockey trade.’
If the Golden Knights are all-in on Marner for 2025, no team has a greater recent history in making moves that look impossible happen.
