LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There's a new star on the Guys in Gold in number #93.
On Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights completed a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs in which VGK traded forward Nic Roy for forward Mitch Marner.
As a part of the sign-and-trade, the Knights are inking Marner, 28, to an 8-year, $96 million contract averaging $12 a season.
Watch as VGK GM Kelly McCrimmon details offseason developments and welcomes his new goal scorer to Vegas:
While development camp is ongoing, the star right wing is in Vegas on Tuesday to be introduced as a Golden Knight at City National Arena.
Marner spent all nine years in the NHL with Toronto and produced 741 total points, eclipsing the single-season century mark for the first time last season. A three-time NHL all-star, Marner posted a career-high 102 points last season while racking up a career-high 75 assists.
Hear from Mitch Marner about his thoughts on Vegas and becoming a Golden Knight:
The Knights landing Marner is considered one of the franchise's most significant transactions in its eight-year history.
'Vegas Born' hopes that pairing the prolific offensive weapon with fellow star forwards like Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Tomas Hertl, and Pavel Dorofeyev can propel the team back to the Stanley Cup Final after two straight postseasons failing to make it to the Conference Final.
Nick Walters breaks down the latest in VGK offseason moves from City National Arena:
The Marner deal goes down after the Knights cleared cap space by trading Nic Hague to the Nashville Predators instead of extending the defenseman.
Hear what fans had to say about the Golden Knights' trade for Mitch Marner:
Further clearing space is Alex Pietrangelo, seemingly destined for LTIR due to nagging injuries, the veteran defenseman's $8.8 million cap hit being recuperated by the Knights.
Pietrangelo, 35, released a statement Monday regarding the situation, detailing how he is stepping away from hockey and is considering undergoing major hip surgery. Retirement sounds like an option for the two-time Stanley Cup champ who has played well over 1,000 games in his 17-season NHL career.
Last week, another major domino fell in the Golden Knights' offseason as the team re-signed original misfit, forward Reilly Smith, to a one-year deal.
The next big question involves big numbers as center Jack Eichel looks for an extension. The Golden Knights' all-world versatile star has one more year left on his deal and is poised to become one of the highest-paid players in hockey.
