Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner dealt to Golden Knights in blockbuster $96 million sign-and-trade

· New York Post

The Golden Knights are rolling the dice on Mitch Marner. 

The Vegas hockey team pulled off a deal with the Maple Leafs to acquire Marner in a sign-and-trade that gave the hockey star an eight-year deal worth $12 million per season before shipping him off to Sin City, according to multiple reports. 

The deal keeps Marner from hitting the open market, where he would have been one of the biggest names in NHL free agency this summer. He heads to Vegas, where he’ll likely end up on the top line.

Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who was traded to the Golden Knights on Monday, reacts after scoring against the Ottawa Senators during the first period of game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Reports from The Athletic and NHL insider Bob McKenzie indicated that Nicolas Roy would be headed back to Toronto as part of the deal. 

Roy is a bottom-six center with two more years left on his contract and is coming off a season where he recorded 15 goals and 31 points with the Golden Knights. 

Marner spent nine seasons with the Maple Leafs, who drafted him fourth overall in 2015, and appeared in 657 regular season games during his tenure north of the border. 

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner speaks to the media during an end-of-season NHL hockey news conference in Toronto, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. AP

He was the NHL’s fifth highest scorer last season, finishing with 102 points – a career best. 

During his nine seasons, Marner recorded 741 points during the regular season and 63 points in 70 playoff games. 

Marner’s departure was far from a surprise, considering that he was planning to test the free agent market and Leafs general manager Brad Treliving acknowledged that fact last week. 

He also acknowledged the tough task of trying to fill a hole left by Marner. 

Mitch Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts after losing to the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game Seven of the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 18, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Getty Images

“[Marner is] a really good player. And I think I said this before, too: There’s not a Mitch Marner tree that you go to and just replace him. So if that indeed happens, we will continue to look at ways that we can help ourselves,” he said last week, according to The Athletic. 

While Marner has been productive on the ice, he has faced criticism as the Maple Leafs failed to make much noise in the postseason, advancing past the first round twice in eight seasons in which the roster included Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly.