Toronto Maple Leafs trade Mitch Marner to Vegas Golden Knights in $96M deal

Mitch Marner’s time with the Toronto Maple Leafs has come to an end. The Maple Leafs have agreed to sign-and-trade Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights, as reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Monday. Marner signed an eight-year, $96-million deal with an average annual value of $12 million.

In return, centre Nicolas Roy joins the Leafs. Roy, standing at six-foot-four and aged 28, recorded 15 goals and 16 assists in 71 games last season. He has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3 million.

Marner, 28, played nine seasons with the Maple Leafs after being drafted fourth overall by the team in 2015. He has been a consistent point producer, tallying 741 points in 657 regular-season games and 63 points in 70 playoff games.

Despite his individual success, Marner faced playoff disappointments with the Leafs, including a recent 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of their second-round series. The core group of Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly struggled in the playoffs, winning only two out of six winner-take-all games in eight seasons together.

Marner was the third-highest-paid player on the Maple Leafs, earning $10.9 million. He had signed his previous deal in September 2019 under former GM Kyle Dubas. In March, Marner declined a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen, reportedly due to his no-trade clause.

According to the source: Sportsnet.ca.