LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights made waves the day before NHL free agency opened by acquiring Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner in exchange for forward Nic Roy.
As a part of the blockbuster sign-and-trade, the 28-year-old winger inked an 8-year, $96 million contract that's tied for 5th in the NHL in annual average value.
While VGK fans were excited about the news of adding the dynamic offensive playmaker to the mix, Leafs fans were understandably not happy about losing their three-time NHL All-Star.
To hear the POV of Toronto fans, Channel 13's Nick Walters chatted with Maple Leafs beat writer David Alter who writes for The Hockey News.
VIDEO: Nick Walters interviews Toronto Maple Leafs beat writer
An Ontario native, Marner played nine seasons for the Leafs and ranks 5th all-time for the franchise in scoring with 741 overall points. Marner grew up playing hockey around Toronto and played for the OHL's London Knights for three seasons.
Furthermore, there was buzz since 2023 that Marner could be on the way out and some reports hinted that Vegas was always a preferred destination.
"This is a homegrown player," Alter said when asked about Leafs fans' reactions to the trade. "It was a storybook when he was drafted 4th overall by the Leafs, playing for his hometown team... Everyone had expectations that this was going to be one of the greatest Maple Leafs of all time, smashing records."
"To kind of see it end this way is kind of a lost opportunity," Alter said. "For a hometown player who loved this team and is certainly very talented in terms of what he's been able to do. So a lot of fans are pretty upset in terms of just kind of the way things kind of transpired here."
Marner comes off a 102-point season, the first time he's eclipsed the century mark in scoring in his career.
Marner's $96 million contract with the Knights is tied as the 6th-richest NHL contract in total value. Alter says that the caliber of forward Marner has proven to be worth backing up the Brinks truck for.
"I think there's no question that the Golden Knights saw value in him and he was probably going to command that kind of number," Alter said. "If he would have went to some of the other teams and tested the markets, there were projections that he could get a number exceeding that."
"Look," Alter explained. "He's a 100-point player, very talented, eats up a lot of minutes, plays on the power play, penalty kill and even strength. I mean, he's really the full package in terms of the offensive type of player. There was never any doubt in terms of the money he was going to get. It really was going to be about fit and where he could win and where his lifestyle kind of fit. And all those things led to Vegas."
See Nick and David's conversation to hear about how Marner is trying to put postseason woes in the past and learn more about the man off the ice.
