The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs just before the winger reached free agency and immediately signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract.
As Marner revealed during his introductory press conference, he knew where he wanted to play next season. The moment Vegas renewed its interest after trying to trade for him at the deadline, Marner told his agent to make it happen.
“This was a spot that was very high on my list,” Marner said. “We wanted to come here. I went back to my agent and said, ‘I’m open to doing this if we can find a way to do it.’”
One of the key reasons Marner said yes, besides liking Sin City and the winning culture of the team, was one of their players: fellow forward Jack Eichel.
“I'm really looking forward to it, he’s an exceptional player,” Marner said. “A guy that moves really well up and down the ice, you know, both ends of the ice, he’s very responsible. At the same time, he’s got a deadly shot with his vision and playmaking style.
"So, I’m very excited to start working with him and try to figure out the chemistry quickly and get that rolling.”
Eichel is entering the final season of his own eight-year, $80 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
For now, the duo has one full year to make the most of their time together.
“I’ve talked to a couple of guys that have been his teammates and have said some unbelievable things about him as a human,” Marner said. “So, I’m very much looking forward to being in the locker room with him, starting to learn tendencies of where he likes to be on the ice.”
Eichel holds the Golden Knights' all-time points record in a single season with 94 just last year and is also in possession of the best points-per-game rate at 1.05, the only player in Vegas history scoring at more than one point-per-game pace.
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