The Mitch Marner era is officially over. The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nicolas Roy. This deal comes with an extension for Marner as well. He has agreed to an eight-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $12 million. It has been a long, drawn-out process, but the saga has finally come to an end and the two parties can turn their attention to the future of their teams.
However, before we do that, it is time to grade the Marner trade. There are some interesting moving parts that needed to be worked out. But now that it’s all finished, let’s look at the trade itself and then get onto grading it from both teams’ perspectives.
Here are the full details of the trade between the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights:
Maple Leafs Bring in Nicolas Roy
Maple Leafs Grade: B+
The Toronto Maple Leafs received Roy in the trade, which while it isn’t as big of a return as everyone thought, it is something. Realistically, they could have had Marner walk for nothing and been left scrambling to fill the void. However, thanks to general manager Brad Treliving, he was able to get the Golden Knights to agree to a sign-and-trade, which allowed them to bring in Roy, who would slot in as their third-line center at this time.
Related: 2025 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Roy, 28, is signed to two more years with an AAV of $3 million, which is a very affordable number for a third-line player that can play down the middle or on the wing. Last season, he scored 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 71 games. He also had 47 blocks and 72 hits along with a 47.7% faceoff percentage. He may not be the biggest name in the NHL, but he is a good, serviceable middle-six player that the Maple Leafs covet. He fits the mold that Treliving is building. He is 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds and will be added to a lineup where they are trying to change the DNA.
Vegas Gets Their Top Target
Golden Knights Grade: A
As for Vegas, they get their guy in Marner. He had been rumoured by Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts the Podcast that they have been interested in him since the 2024 NHL Draft. It was clear that they didn’t want to part with any big members of their team such as Ivan Barbashev, but needed to clear some sort of cap space, which is why they included Roy. It’s fairly well known what the Golden Knights are getting in Marner, a 102-point player who does extremely well in the regular season. Unfortunately, when the playoffs roll around, he tends to fall off a bit. The hope is that he can figure that out with his new club and be one of the best players in the league, but we won’t know about that until the 2026 NHL playoffs.
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)
As part of this deal, they also signed Marner to an eight-year extension worth $96 million, with a $12 million AAV. He was projected to sign for $13 million per season, so they were able to bring that AAV down. That is largely due to Vegas not having a state tax, which will allow him to earn more than he would have at $13 to $14 million in Toronto.
Unfortunately for Maple Leafs fans, today has been bittersweet. They saw a hometown kid want to leave the organization after years of scrutiny. He will now join his new team in Vegas and hope to change some of his ways in hopes of lifting the Stanley Cup. This is the type of trade that when we as fans look back on in five years, it could have either been very good or very bad. As for Marner, he may look back at this deal by the end of his career and regret leaving his hometown team. Although he was one of the best players to ever wear the blue and white, his time in Toronto will forever be viewed as a failure due to their zero Cups over his nine-year career.
