If the criticism is going to land on Mitch Marner, then it has to be applied evenly — and right now, it just isn’t.
There’s no denying Marner has gone quiet lately. Six games without a goal isn’t what you expect from a player of his caliber, and his overall numbers aren’t matching what he put up with the Toronto Maple Leafs. But framing this as a Marner-specific problem ignores what’s actually happening with the Vegas Golden Knights as a whole.
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Look at Jack Eichel. He’s in the same drought — no goals over that stretch — and his plus/minus has taken an even bigger hit. Over the last six games, Mitch Marner is a -3, while Eichel is a -6. And given that Eichel has been producing at a point-per-game pace this season, you’d expect him to be drawing some criticism as well.
This is someone about to carry a $13.5 million cap hit next season. If Marner is catching heat for not driving offense, Eichel should be right there in the conversation. Right now, neither of them is producing at the level you’d expect.
And that’s really the point — this goes well beyond one line or one player.
Goaltending Has Been a Major Issue
A big part of the problem starts behind the skaters.
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Adin Hill hasn’t looked like the same goalie who helped backstop a Stanley Cup run. By advanced metrics, he’s near the bottom of the league — sitting 89th out of 94, per MoneyPuck. That’s not just a cold stretch, that’s something that affects the entire structure of the team.
When the goaltending is that shaky, everything tightens up. Defenders play more cautiously, mistakes feel bigger, and the offense starts forcing plays trying to compensate. It becomes a chain reaction, and it’s not exactly the environment where top scorers thrive.
Carter Hart hasn’t just been inconsistent in net — he’s also struggled to stay healthy, which hasn’t helped stabilize things. Meanwhile, Akira Schmid is going through the toughest season of his career.
Carter Hart has spent most of the year laying down on the ice, unfortunately. Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie
Hart sits at 5-3-3 with a 3.28 goals-against average and an .871 save percentage. At this level, anything below .900 is a concern, and his numbers fall well short of that mark. Schmid, on the other hand, has appeared in a career-high 34 games, but the increased workload hasn’t done him any favors. He’s 16-10-6 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage — again, below where you’d want it.
Schmid has been mid.
As for Adin Hill, when he’s not winning, things have unraveled quickly. He gave up three goals on three shots against Utah, and early in the game against Dallas, he allowed two goals on his first six shots. That means he surrendered five goals on his previous nine shots faced — a stretch that highlights just how rough it’s been. Somehow Vegas ended up winning that game in overtime.
Adin Hill has never looked worse. Credit: Jerome Miron
But Hill’s wild inconsistency helps explain his .868 save percentage this season, which is simply not good enough for a starting NHL goaltender.
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Bigger Than One Player
Marner could absolutely give more — that’s fair. But he’s still putting up respectable numbers over the course of the season. The larger issue is that Vegas isn’t getting enough consistency anywhere — not from its top stars, not from its depth, and definitely not in net.
When multiple core pieces are underperforming at the same time, singling out one player doesn’t really tell the story.
This isn’t just about Marner.
It’s about a Vegas Golden Knights team that hasn’t been good enough collectively.
Just be glad this team is in the Pacific Division—because if they weren’t, you could forget about the playoffs altogether.
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