Marner Addition Forces His Former Team To Change Power Play

Normally, our focus is solely on the NHL’s 31st franchise. However, Mitch Marner’s move to Vegas sent ripples around the entire league. While Marner’s former club continues to fill the holes he left, the Golden Knights sit pretty with multiple options on the ice, especially on the man-advantage.

The loss of Mitch Marner is going to impact the Maple Leafs in many ways. One of those situations is the power play, where Marner took over the quarterbacking responsibilities last season. Toronto’s power play clicked at nearly 25 per cent in 2024-25, placing the Leafs in the top 10… the Leafs’ power play remained effective for the most part in the post-season, something that had been lacking in the past. – Michael Amato on Sportsnet.ca

Adding a dynamic player like Marner instantly made the Golden Knights more dangerous on offense. So on the flip side, his absence should hurt Toronto’s nightly offense and on the power play. The Maple Leafs need a PP quarterback as effective as the one they lost on July 1st. The Golden Knights have Marner, plus others who can successfully fill the position.

Earlier this month, we examined the wealth of weapons coach Bruce Cassidy will have available to him on the power play next season.

Marner’s ability to play along the blue line on the power play gives Cassidy an elite new option to his already stellar power play. 28.3% is the new bar for the Golden Knights to clear to set the franchise record once again in 2025-26. With Marner and a five-forward unit leading the charge, it doesn’t seem out of the question at all. -SinBin.vegas

Last season, Toronto deployed a wildly successful five-forward power play unit, which Marner commonly directed. By the end of the season, he led the high-powered Leafs with 33 power play points, which is why they’re scrambling for a new strategy.

The five-forward look is likely going to be a thing of the past minus Marner, though Toronto can’t revert to something that is ineffective in the playoffs. The most likely path here is that the Leafs stick with the status quo to start the year and fall back to Rielly to run the power play. It’s a safe play that would allow them to save their remaining cap space and trade assets to possibly make a move in-season to help upgrade their roster. –Amato on Sportsnet.ca

While Toronto moves on from the front-loaded power play plan, Vegas just added the option. Sure, they’re mostly right-handed shots, but Pavel Dorofeyev, Tomas Hertl, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Marner on the same unit would be lethal. How could anybody get up and go to the bathroom during power play chances?

Vegas didn’t acquire Marner to fix their already successful power play but his presence adds another level of difficulty for opponents. Just because Cassidy has a great five-forward option doesn’t mean he’s willing to use it. His players performed to such a high level last season on the man-advantage; the coach is blessed with an embarrassment of riches.

Three right-handed sticks will allow for plenty of interchange, while Dorofeyev will likely get lost in the left circle waiting to unleash his deadly slapper… This would also open the door for Cassidy to deploy a second until with both Theodore and Hanifin, allowing him a full defensive pair when the power play ends, something he has mentioned as a necessity on multiple occasions. -SinBin.vegas

As the excitement builds for the new look Golden Knights season to begin other fanbases are preparing themselves for a disappointing season. Maple Leafs fans are one of those groups. If you don’t believe me, stream TSN Toronto or turn on the NHL Network. They’re discussing changing the team’s DNA. By October? Good luck with all of that.