Grading the Mitch Marner trade: Maple Leafs save face as Golden Knights add superstar

Toronto Maple Leafs

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Nicolas Roy, C; $3 million cap hit through 2027

Marner alluded to his impending departure in the aftermath of Toronto’s second-round exit, and the Maple Leafs’ attention turned to re-upping Tavares and Matthew Knies while spending Marner’s salary on complimentary pieces. One such piece, Nic Roy, arrived before the onset of free agency. 

Marner, Maple Leafs’ GM Brad Treliving, and Vegas had spent the days leading up to free agency hammering out a deal that would buy the Knights an extra year on Marner’s contract and keep Toronto from losing him for nothing. When the Leafs perceived the Golden Knights as getting cold feet, a conspicuously well-timed media leak suggested they’d come after Vegas for using faux trade talks to get the jump on signing Marner as a UFA.

McCrimmon saw the writing on the wall and fulfilled his promise to send a roster player back to the Maple Leafs, and the deal was finalized on Monday afternoon. Roy is more than a method for Toronto to save face amid an ugly divorce, though.

He fits right in with Treliving’s vision of the Leafs as a thumping, defensive juggernaut in the mold of, you guessed it, the Golden Knights. Since cracking Vegas’s lineup full-time in 2021-22, the big Quebecois centerman has scored just under half a point per game while clearing tough minutes and chipping in on the PK.

Roy’s ability to play borderline second-line ice time (15:48 ATOI) will help Toronto limit defensive zone starts for the aging Tavares. He’s been a center for his entire career, and stability down the middle could help salvage Max Domi and Scott Laughton, pricy (and failed) attempts to fill Toronto’s void at 3C, as wingers. 

Roy’s hard-nosed game has led to double-digit injury absences in three seasons running, but two years of team control of a 28-year-old with winning pedigree (79 playoff games) make this a nifty get by Treliving.

Grade: A+

Vegas Golden Knights

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Mitch Marner, RW; $12 million cap hit through 2033 (extended as stipulation of trade)

Marner is done being the hockey media’s biggest whipping boy, a title that was as much a product of his environment and exorbitant contract (seventh-highest cap hit from 2019-23) as his playoff woes (50 P in 73 GP). Whether or not he deserved to be a pariah, Marner is one of the NHL’s elite players.

Marner, eighth in regular-season scoring since 2021-22 and fourth in assists, is coming off career-best production (102 P) despite an off-color campaign by perennial linemate Auston Matthews (33 G, down from a 46-G average from 2017-24). He is one of the few true play drivers in hockey at his position, thanks to elite two-way results that have earned Selke votes in all but his first two seasons. Most importantly, he fits in Vegas.

Mark Stone was once the only winger in hockey who defended better than Marner, but age and injury have whittled down his own-zone effectiveness. With Marner on board, the Vegas captain can continue to generate offense alongside star center Jack Eichel without eating so many matchup minutes.  

Tomas Hertl doesn’t score at the generational pace of Matthews, but Marner could do worse at finding a stylistically similar linemate to his old friend. Hertl is a 220-lb bear of a man who cannot be moved from the low slot. He’s coming off a 32-goal season despite a rotating cast of wingers. Marner is as creative below the goal line as any player in the league, and Hertl is set up well to reap the rewards.

The money is still a gamble. While Marner’s $12-million AAV is almost certainly below his market value, Vegas can only afford it due to the newly announced semi-retirement of blue-line leader Alex Pietrangelo. Even with ‘Petro’ on board, there were cracks in the Golden Knights’ defensive armor last season. 

Marner’s noted postseason struggles amplify the risk for McCrimmon. Vegas needs Marner to elevate in the spring, where he’s so often disappeared, to put a jolt into the decaying core of its 2023 Cup team.

With physical beasts like Hertl, Stone, and Ivan Barabashov littered throughout their top six, the Knights are still the best bet to fix what ails Marner in crunch time.

Grade: A-