(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)
For the 10th game in the last 11, Mitch Marner lined up as a center for the Golden Knights. It first happened out of necessity with Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Colton Sissons all being out of the lineup at the same time, but now it appears to have stuck.
He plays like a centerman with the puck, so can you do the other things? He’s a good defensive player all over the ice, and he loves to work above his F3 so there’s a natural fit as a center. -Bruce Cassidy
Marner played his 700th game in the NHL on Saturday, and though he expected to play center in Toronto, it didn’t work out that way. During his entire time with the Leafs, he played exclusively on the wing, and that appeared to be the plan in Vegas as well.
However, now that he’s playing in the middle of the ice, it seems silly that he hasn’t spent more time there in the past, given his skill set.
I like the way it’s trended the last couple of games. Finding open ice, finding the puck, and making plays off that. You want to try and make an impact regardless if it’s on the scoresheet or not. Just want it to keep getting better and keep building chemistry with who I’m with. -Mitch Marner
With Karlsson potentially sidelined for the rest of the season, Marner’s emergence as a center gives the Golden Knights a lot more flexibility. Cassidy believes there may be a natural fit to Marner’s right.
We’re still trying to find wingers with him. I’ve always thought him and Pav (Dorofeyev) might have some chemistry because Pav’s a shooter. Mitch played for years with a pretty good shooter in Toronto who is a left stick. So I’d like to see how that looks over time. -Cassidy
Brett Howden is another interesting option due to his versatility.
I believe Howden has done his best work as a winger. He may end up on that line at some point because it’s good to have a faceoff guy on there in icing situations or D-Zone. You don’t always want to be pulling Mitch off in a D-Zone draw. We’ll see over time when he gets more work in the circle, maybe it works out and he’s fine or maybe it doesn’t because he’s always been a winger. -Cassidy
Marner’s ability to skate with the puck through the neutral zone is another reason why he fits so well as a center in Vegas. Aside from Eichel, the Golden Knights do not have many players who transport the puck up ice. With Eichel and Marner on the same line, there was a bit of duplication of skill. Separated, it offers a lot more balance to the lineup.
The next step for VGK is unlocking the other pieces around Marner once the puck is in the offensive zone.
You want to get the puck into your creative people’s hands. What I think Mitch is doing better is talking to the D and getting in their line of sight. I think there was a learning curve and we’re starting to get through it. It should only get better in terms of the chemistry and the reads and being able to do it a little quicker. Then, that should extend to be able to make the next play. -Cassidy
The Marner as a center experiment appears to have no end in sight. In fact, it feels more likely that it’ll be his position moving forward for the rest of the year than not. He came to Vegas looking for a change in scenery, turns out he got a change of position as well.
