Marner’s Regular Season PPG Among League’s Best In VGK Era

Since the 2017-18 season, ten All-Stars/potential Hall of Famers have averaged 1.17 points or more per game. Number ten on that list is Golden Knights’ prized free agent Mitch Marner. As a young 20-year-old with only 77 career games under his belt, Marner reached his first 69-point season. This also happened to be his last season recording under a point per game. As his career blossomed, so did his production. Over the last four years, the newest Golden Knight was 0.05 points per game away from being in the Top 5. All but one name above him have Hart trophies to their name.

Marner By The Numbers: (657 Regular Season Games)

• Assists: 520 (5th)
• Goals: 221 (38th)
• Points: 741 (8th)
• Points Per Game: 0.90 (38th)
• Primary Assists: 332 (4th)
• Even Strength Points: 495 (9th)
• Power Play Points: 228 (11th)
• Power Play Assists: 178 (5th)
• Power Play Primary Assists: 99 (5th)

Mark Stone (30th) is the only other Golden Knight in the Top 30 with 204 primary assists. Vegas star center Jack Eichel (57th) comes in with 173, Shea Theodore (88th) recorded 147, William Karlsson (91st) earned 145, Tomas Hertl (96th) primary assisted 140 goals, and Reilly Smith (97) has one less. Now they have the 4th best primary goal creator in hockey.

We didn’t win, obviously. We didn’t do what we wanted to do. They took a risky pick on a small kid from Toronto that was forever grateful to be able to wear a Maple Leaf jersey. But now, being a family man and a father, we were ready to look somewhere else and find a new place to grow our family. -Mitch Marner

However, Vegas still doesn’t have one goal scorer inside the Top 37 since Marner’s rookie season. Since entering the league, he has averaged only 0.34 tallies per 60. Only Hertl with 0.43 and Eichel 0.42 have a higher scoring rate than their newest teammate. Technically, Pavel Dorofeyev’s 0.37 goals per game is higher than Marner’s but we’ll recalculate after the 2025-26 season concludes.

Marner’s Postseason By The Numbers: (70 Playoff Games)

• Assists: 50 (15th)
• Goals: 13 (103rd)
• Points: 63 (35th)
• Points Per Game: 0.90 (38th)
• Primary Assists: 31 (13th)
• Even Strength Points: 38 (46th)
• Power Play Points: 23 (30th)
• Power Play Assists: 22 (14th)
• Power Play Primary Assists: 11 (15th)

Clearly, the Golden Knights will have to shoot more than many of their playmakers are used to. Eichel’s goals per game have only grown 0.05 since donning gold, while Hertl’s have slightly increased. After offering him $96M, the Golden Knights are hoping Marner’s G/GP rises as well. By adding a handful of goals above his season average will undoubtedly keep Vegas in the hunt for the 2026 Presidents trophy. However, regular season production isn’t why Vegas hustled to trade for the extended former Maple Leaf.

You want to be in a place where you can win. That’s the whole goal of why we do this. You want to hoist a Stanley Cup. This team has shown that they can do it. I’m lucky enough to now hopefully help bring it back here. -Marner

The bottom line is Marner’s eight-year contract will be judged on how many playoff goals and victories his team accrues, the same goes for Eichel’s upcoming extension. If Vegas fails to win a second Stanley Cup in the next eight seasons, the spending spree will be widely looked at as a waste of money. Also, an 11-year drought would cause frustration, constant roster realignment, and jobs. One championship in 17 seasons doesn’t sound like a formula an aggressive owner like The Creator can get behind.