Vegas Golden Knights looks to be Mitch Marner’s next club address. But not without drama. Now Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman states that the Toronto Maple Leafs can report the club to the NHL for talking to Marner without their permission.
In Sunday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman states that the Toronto Maple Leafs may accuse Vegas Golden Knights for undue influence, so -called “tamping”, if they sign a contract with Mitch Marner when NHL’s free agency opens on July 1.
– I do not make any judgment on whether Vegas is guilty or not, says Friedman.
– There have been some discussions that if Marner goes to Vegas then Maple Leaf’s can accuse them of undue influence. Again, I have no evidence that Vegas has done anything wrong, but this is a time when the clubs in the league are extremely sensitive about such issues … Some General Managers told me last Saturday that they think the NHL is sucked into setting examples.
– If Vegas makes a trade with Toronto and sends one or two good players there, I guess Leafs will not register them.
The statement came the day after it began to circulate information that Maple Leafs and Golden Knights for discussions about a so-called Sign-And-Trade for Marner-similar to the deal where Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers agreed in July 2022, when Matthew Tkachuk wrote an eight-year contract with Flames before replaced.
According to reports, Toronto in such a change would receive forward Nicolas Roy and the slop Nicolas Hague in exchange for Marner.
Vegas Golden Knights have been chasing Mitch Marner for a long time
Friedman says that Vegas’s interest in Marner has extended over the past year. He took up a potential change that almost got rid of the NHL draft 2024, where Leafs showed interest in Golden Knights back Shea Theodore, but where the negotiations finally broke.
It has also been reported that Marner refused to lift his No Trade clause, which should have stopped a potential change with Carolina Hurricanes before the Trade Deadline. According to Friedman, Golden Knights was then picked into the picture to try to get the deal to lock.
– Vegas came into the discussions and they talked about Marner to Vegas, [Mikko] Rantanen from Carolina to Dallas – which eventually happened – but they were unable to get it together for Hurricanes. Could they find the right puzzle pieces or player packages that made them happy? A three -way store was discussed. I never think it went so far that it was presented to Marner, but it was up as an alternative. … It’s another example of how Vegas has shown interest in Marner. But it was simply not possible.
Is expected to receive annual salary of $ 12-13 million
Friedman states that Vegas investigated the possibility of getting the rights to Marner already during the NHL Draft Combine, and that the discussions took off in connection with the draft last week.
– I think that during the past week the conversations have started to take off, that Maple Leafs and Golden Knights have discussed what a change of Marner’s rights could look like.
If a “sign-and-trade” becomes a reality, Vegas will have to create space in the salary ceiling to get Marner, although the law during the summer’s low season may be up to ten percent above the roof. Roy has a three million dollar salary meeting until the 2026/27 season, while Hague is a so -called restricted free agent. According to Capwages, Vegas has just over $ 7.6 million in projected salary space. Since Marner is believed to be able to get a contract worth around $ 12-13 million per season, general manager Kelly McCrimmon will have to think creatively.
Marner has been part of Leafs since the club chose him in the first round of the Draft 2015. For nine seasons, the Toronto son has played 657 basic series matches and is listed for 221 goals and 520 assists for a total of 741 points. In the playoffs he has produced 63 points in 70 matches. This past season was his best point so far – 102 points in 81 matches.
