Over the last week, rumors of a potential destination for pending free agent winger Mitch Marner have centered on the Vegas Golden Knights. That should not be of any great surprise, since the Golden Knights have on a consistent basis taken big swings in free agency and in the trade market. On the second day of the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on NHL Network that there were talks between the Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs that involve a potential sign-and-trade, but on Sunday morning’s post-draft episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, the chatter involving a possible deal took on a completely different complexion.
Friedman indicated on Saturday that if a deal was consummated, it would involve Vegas sending 28-year-old center Nicolas Roy to Toronto. On the podcast, the name of restricted free agent defenseman Nic Hague was also mentioned as possibly being included. One or both of these names being sent to the Leafs would make sense as Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon would have to open up cap space to sign Marner to a long-term deal, and Vegas reportedly does not want to move out center William Karlsson, center Tomas Hertl, or forward Ivan Barbashev.
One possibility, according to Friedman, may involve placing defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on LTIR, thus opening up $8.8 million in cap space. Roy has two years remaining at a $3 million AAV, and Hague’s qualifying offer for the final year of team control would be in excess of $2.5 million. The other reason for a possible deal between the two clubs is that the Leafs may accuse the Golden Knights of tampering if they sign Marner at any point.
The market for Marner is expected to be brisk if he makes it to the open market on Tuesday, with Anaheim, Los Angeles, and Carolina rumored to be interested in pursuing the 28-year-old winger. That could make a proactive team like Vegas open to making premature overtures to Marner, something that Friedman has no proof that they did. According to his sources, the NHL may be itching to make an example out of a team that tried to take an unfair advantage of the situation.
The Golden Knights have already inspired the ire of others in the league by their creative use of LTIR going into the playoffs, which required new rules to be written in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Friedman believes that if a deal goes down between the Leafs and Vegas including Roy (who had 15 goals and 16 assists in 71 games last season) and Hague (5 goals, 7 assists in 68 games last season), that Toronto filing with the league for tampering goes away.
Good piece Mike.????