Vegas Golden Knights star forward Mitch Marner is having a solid season in his first year since leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, most of his fellow high-paid stars are scoring more.
Vegas Golden Knights star Mitch Marner will take on his old Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Thursday night in Las Vegas.
It's a good time to examine how Marner's season has gone thus far. And let's be clear – as a point-per-game player who has 36 assists and 46 points in 44 games, Marner is definitely having a solid campaign.
When it comes to getting bang for your buck, however, Marner isn't delivering optimal results.
Marner has the NHL's fifth-highest cap hit this season at $12 million per year, but he currently sits tied for 24th place among NHL point-getters heading into Wednesday's action. That's something that sticks out, and not in a positive way, regardless of how you feel about Marner as an elite player.
Another optic is the fact that just about every player who is paid at or above Marner's pay grade is producing at far better than a point-per-game pace.
Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl has the league's highest cap hit this season at $14 million, and he has 21 more points than Marner. Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon makes $600,000 more than Marner, but he has a whopping 35 more points. Oilers superstar Connor McDavid makes $500,000 more than Marner, but he has 36 more points. And Dallas Stars right winger Mikko Rantanen has the same cap hit Marner, but he has 16 more points.
One of the only exceptions comes in the form of Marner's former linemate, Leafs star Auston Matthews. Toronto's captain – whose cap hit is $13.25 million – has only 37 points in 40 games, but Matthews has 12 more goals than Marner. And Vancouver Canucks star center Elias Pettersson has 28 points in 30 games, which isn't good at all for someone making $11.6 million. However, Marner can't escape the fact that he isn't producing points at a level commensurate with his salary.
Of course, Marner will ultimately be judged by the same metric he was judged by in Toronto – and that's by the number of Stanley Cup playoff games he plays. If the Golden Knights are eliminated in the first or second round of the post-season this spring, the critics will be out in full force, noting that Marner can't deliver his team deep into the playoffs. But if Vegas gets to the Western Conference final and beyond, he'll be lauded for finally breaking through and experiencing impressive success on a team level.
Still, there's no question that Marner needs to ratchet up his regular-season play to the same level as the league's highest-paid players around him. He doesn't have to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's best point-producer, but he does need to elevate his game beyond what we've seen from him thus far this year.
Marner had a bit of a hot streak last week, recording two points in three straight games. But in his last seven games, those are the only three outings in which he recorded points. Before that, he had points in six of seven games as the Golden Knights moved him to center. So there are undoubtedly signs of Marner as an elite player, but if he wants to challenge his career-high 102 points from last season, he'll need to produce in even more games.
Marner got a $1.1-million raise from the $10.9-million cap hit he earned last year with the Leafs. But he's currently on a pace for 85 points, which would equal his total in 2023-24, when he played just 69 games. It's not all about points for Marner, but make no mistake – points definitely are a factor in judging how effective a player is.
Nobody doubts McDavid, MacKinnon, Draisaitl and Rantanen are worth the money they're making. But we're not sure the same can be said about Marner at the moment, although this sample size is still only half of one year of his eight-year contract. He's very much a key component of the Golden Knights, but if he's going to be regarded as the cream of the crop, we need to see more cream from him.
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