Kristen ShiltonOct 1, 2025, 06:22 AM ETCloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on X
SUMMERLIN, Nevada — Enter the Vegas Golden Knights practice facility and you’re met by a barrage of team logos, mascot drawings and even a faux brick-wall backdrop to the ice sheet reflecting the club’s established — and beloved — “Fortress” theme.
It’s the team store, though, that’s putting the team’s present — and future — on full display. Amid a selection of VGK-branded hoodies and jackets lined up outside, there’s only one player’s jersey in sight: Mitch Marner’s.
“You heard of this new guy they got?” the taxi driver asks when he sees that the Golden Knights’ arena is the destination. “Mitch Marner. He’s supposed to be pretty good.”
The winger’s reputation clearly preceded him to the desert. At this point, Marner had yet to even suit up in one of Vegas’ preseason games but there was anticipation to see him in action — or even get a glimpse of him at the rink.
Fans in Marner sweaters crowded the floor to watch one of Vegas’ morning skates and see him flanking new linemates Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. Afterward, they waited for him on the sidewalk outside — one fan holding a hand-painted picture they hoped he’d see and sign — to show their enthusiasm over the arrival of Vegas’ projected new star.
A tough blow for Toronto? Absolutely. But Marner seemingly has no regrets as he embarks on this next chapter.
“Can’t complain; I’m liking life,” Marner told ESPN in September. “It’s been good. There is nice weather, and no traffic has been a nice little treat [coming from Toronto]. I’ve had a lot of love shown to [my family] so far through our time here, which has been amazing. A lot of excited fans. I want to go out there and do my thing and try to just keep doing what I’ve been doing the past years and contributing to help the team win games.”
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon bet big on Marner being able to do just that. He’d been eyeing the 28-year-old since the NHL’s trade deadline in March, calling him an “elite playmaker and tremendous passer” who is expected to elevate Vegas’ top-line attack.
That sort of talent doesn’t come cheap, though, and it wasn’t until the Golden Knights put defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve with a potentially career-ending leg issue that Vegas had enough cap space to make Marner one of the highest-paid players in the league.
Marner has the regular-season résumé to back up that sort of financial commitment. Since entering the league in 2016-17, Marner has recorded 520 assists (fifth most among all NHL players) and 741 points (eighth most). But translating that success into the postseason has been a different story, at least in Toronto. And that’s only one narrative Marner will have to overcome if he’s to fulfill the lofty expectations in Vegas.
“He was our target; he was the player we wanted,” McCrimmon said. “I think [his addition] will improve our team tremendously.”
In time, Toronto would invest over half of its salary cap in those four skaters without getting the returns for which it had hoped. Pressure to perform intensified around that group each year that Toronto floundered in the postseason, having now recorded seven first-round or qualifying-round playoff losses in the nine straight years they claimed a playoff spot.
In particular, Marner and Matthews bore the brunt of criticism for the Leafs’ lack of achievement when it mattered most. Their impact wasn’t high enough. They didn’t mirror the opponent’s top skaters. Too invisible. Too disappointing.
Still, transitioning to another lineup after nearly a decade alongside the same teammates isn’t easy, especially when there’s certain standards to uphold. The Golden Knights are coming off another strong season in which they finished third overall in the league standings — one spot ahead of the Leafs — and had the fifth-best offense (averaging 3.34 goals).
Marner’s task will be finding ways to make Vegas even more fearsome up front. Coach Bruce Cassidy paired Marner with Eichel immediately in training camp and they’ve worked hard to build a rapport along with Barbashev. Eichel went into the partnership with an open mind and some familiarity with Marner from their past as part of the same draft class — Eichel was selected No. 2 that year by Buffalo. He has been impressed by Marner when they’ve battled on the ice in the years since then.
Marner is hoping to follow Eichel’s lead there as well. The Golden Knights have a certain character that appeals to Marner, one that’s loud and familial and propelled by some well-placed barbs he’s looking to match.
“Jack’s pretty good at chirping,” Marner said with a laugh. “I’m going to join the group here soon enough doing more of that. I like to hear it too. Lot of loud mouths in here, which is great. I like that. And I like the high energy and the back and forth. If you want to be a part of a team, you want to have guys poking one another. It’s been a lot of fun to be here.”
That’s not to say Marner and Eichel also haven’t been putting in the work. Marner has benefited from playing with Matthews — one the NHL’s elite centers — for all of his career to date. Eichel is a top-tier pivot in his own right, but finding a rhythm with Marner has called for its own adjustments — and patience.
“You’re going to see things differently at times, and it’s just being open with your dialogue,” Eichel said of creating chemistry. “Just listening, reading off each other a bit, and just trying to jell and become closer off the ice as well. I always think that helps.”
Marner acknowleged it’s “a bit of a challenge” to find the right timing with a new center. The two were able to connect when they did finally appear in a preseason game, with Marner notching an assist on Eichel’s goal against Utah last Thursday. Marner had admired how Eichel carried himself even before that exhibition play. Cassidy’s decision to start them on a line was probably inevitable, but Marner could see independently that their skill sets would naturally align.
Vegas wasn’t necessarily looking to upgrade its power play — it ranked No. 2 in 2024-25 at 28.3% — but given Marner’s experience, Cassidy slotted him there again as the club got to work on special teams in camp.
Cassidy wants the “best fit” for Marner. If the player has any say, that will include being Vegas’ proverbial eye in the sky on the man advantage going forward.
“I find I can walk the line pretty well and make plays,” Marner said. “I’m not really trying to overshoot to score. I’m trying to shoot for sticks and make plays. It’s not like I have the craziest, hardest shot of all time, obviously. But if there’s an opportunity that I could walk in and try to find it and pick a spot, I’m going to try to do that and be tricky.”
Leafs’ general manager Brad Treliving responded to Marner’s comments with assurances that the organization is fully committed to protecting its players.
“In our business, your No. 1 priority is looking after your players, and I think we do a really good job of it,” Treliving said. “I don’t have any concerns that we don’t do everything humanly possible to make sure that they’re looked after.”
Marner said being targeted by fans wasn’t the only reason he wanted out of Toronto. But it did make it “tough” to consider staying.
“When your family’s safety comes into question, especially having a new son, I don’t think it’s acceptable,” he told TSN.
THE MARNERS HAVE SINCE received a warm reception in their new community, and found they’ve fit right in. Most of the Golden Knights live in similar neighborhoods near the practice facility, and it has made for easy bonding.
Another factor for Marner was the chance to capitalize on the Golden Knights’ often relentless pursuit of a championship. Vegas appeared in the Cup Final during its inaugural 2016 season and won the trophy in 2023. The Golden Knights have been to the playoffs in seven of their first eight seasons as a franchise, and advanced to the second round or beyond in five of those appearances.
That pedigree as a perennial contender with a willingness to do whatever it takes was hard to ignore.
“Definitely, I think you see it every year, that they are not afraid to go for it and make big moves,” Marner said. “So that’s something that excites you as well, and it’s what you want to be a part of. There’s a lot of guys in this locker room that [won] before a couple years ago, and that energizes you too.”
That leaves plenty of time for Marner to emotionally prepare for a return — and whatever reception he receives from a passionate fan base that missed out on seeing him help Toronto end its league-high 57-year Cup drought.
And there are also the Olympics to consider. Marner relished his time helping Team Canada to gold at 4 Nations, and he’s also a strong contender to make the country’s roster for the 2026 Games in Milan.
That possibility isn’t top of mind for Marner right now. He’s just ready to embrace the moment at hand in Vegas: a new opportunity, a clean slate, and the chance to make the most of new memories.
“It’ll be really exciting, I know I’ve got a lot of family coming into town for that one,” Marner said of Vegas’ opener. “I know Miles will be on the glass, which will be a lot of fun to see him for the first time, just his facial expressions and stuff like that will be really cool.
“I’m just excited to see the building rocking. It’s always a loud building, it’s always pretty rowdy and crazy and I’m excited to feel the love on the other side of it.”
“He’s got that aura, just got the swagger into him,” Marner said. “He’s got that calmness out there. It looks like he’s not moving so fast, but his speed is outrageous. He gets really going quickly. And for me, it’s just trying to utilize that as much as I can, trying to find him in spots where maybe it’s not a direct pass, it’s laying a puck in the area and trusting his speed to get in. I’ll find areas that he can make plays into because his vision and his ability to make plays is really high-end.”