Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was on the Leafs Morning Take podcast and named the Vegas Golden Knights as a possible trade candidate for Mitch Marner.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was on the Leafs Morning Take podcast and named the Vegas Golden Knights as a possible trade candidate for Mitch Marner.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was on the Leafs Morning Take podcast and named the Vegas Golden Knights as a possible trade candidate for Mitch Marner.
After the Maple Leafs lost in the first round of the playoffs once again, the anger from fans to move on from one of the core players came back and the culprit was Marner.
It's not much of a surprise that Marner gets a lot of slack from Maple Leafs fans. He is a hometown player and certain expectations follow. The term "hometown discount" is a popular one for Canadians and when Marner was up for a contract after his entry-level contract expired, many fans felt that he fought for every penny in his extension. He's now due for a contract following the 2024-25 season and the Maple Leafs may want to get a return out of him if they don't want him a part of the organization.
“One of the things with Marner is that a lot of people suspect that Vegas will be around it,” Friedman said. “Because Vegas is just smart, they are around any good player. So I got people hypothesizing Shea Theodore and Logan Thompson deals to me, for example.”
The two players Friedman mentioned make sense. The extension given to Noah Hanifin makes Theodore expendable and the Golden Knights have more confidence in Adin Hill to be the goaltender for the most important games.
The Maple Leafs have been looking for a long time to find a player with the profile of Theodore and would love to bring in Thompson to pair up with Joseph Woll.
Financially, the move for Marner would be a bit difficult for the Golden Knights but he would be a great addition. A career-high of 99 points and 69 assists would bring an element to the Golden Knights team that they have never really had in the past. His playmaking ability and creativity could unlock the offensive potential of Jack Eichel.
Friedman's quote does not say that the Golden Knights have inquired about Marner or anything to mention that they are actively pursuing it
GM Kelly McCrimmon has never been afraid to make a bold move before and if this is a trade he does make, it would be the biggest one of his career.
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