TORONTO — Mitch Marner appears set to call Sin City home.
According to multiple media reports Monday, the Maple Leafs are trading Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a swap that ends his at-times mesmerizing, at-times frustrating Toronto tenure.
The talented winger reportedly agreed to an eight-year, US$96-million contract with the Leafs ahead of the deal with Vegas. Marner would have only been able to sign a seven-year contract on the NHL's open market had he hit unrestricted free agency Tuesday.
Details of what Toronto would receive should the trade go through are unclear, although depth centre Nicolas Roy's name was rumoured over the weekend and again Monday.
Marner's long-anticipated departure ties a bow on nine roller-coaster campaigns with the team he cheered for as a kid.
The product of nearby Thornhill, Ont. — arguably the most talented local player to ever don a Toronto jersey — had exceptional regular-season success alongside fellow star forwards Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares.
Marner registered four 90-plus point performances, including cracking 100 for the first time in 2024-25.
The playoffs, however, were an entirely different matter.
Marner, who signed a six-year contract extension with Toronto worth more than $65 million in September 2019, became a lightning rod for criticism among a rabid fan base in the game's biggest media market.
He put up 63 points (13 goals, 50 assists) in 70 playoff contests, but the club made the second round just twice in Marner's nine seasons.
The No. 4 pick at the 2015 draft's inability to step up in big moments for the Leafs was difficult to reconcile.
In Games 5, 6 and 7 from 2017 through 2025, he scored just once and added 10 assists in 26 contests. Marner did set up three goals in the 2020 COVID-19 bubble with Toronto down 2-1 and facing elimination in its five-game preliminary round set against Columbus, but was held without a point in the Blue Jackets' series clinching victory.
There were, however, plenty of culprits as the Leafs managed just two wins in 11 series in the Matthews-Marner era. Toronto has lost all six Game 7s its played since 2018, but also fell to the eventual Cup winner or runner-up five times.
The 28-year-old Marner's last contract — a pact negotiated with former general manager Kyle Dubas that pushed him close to an annual compensation of $11 million — included a full no-movement clause over its final two seasons, which limited the Leafs' options after that wording kicked in July 1, 2024.
Toronto reportedly attempted to deal Marner to the Carolina Hurricanes for fellow star forward Mikko Rantanen ahead the March 2025 trade deadline, but he blocked the move. It's also been reported he declined to negotiate with current GM Brad Treliving on an extension throughout this past season.
Asked point-blank if he wanted to remain with the Leafs following this spring's second-round playoff exit when Toronto fell in seven games to the Florida Panthers — a group that would go onto hoist its second straight Stanley Cup — Marner didn't answer directly.
"I've always loved my time here, I've loved being here," Marner said May 20. "I've been so grateful. I haven't processed anything yet. It's still so fresh."
The Leafs made a couple of other moves Monday, acquiring Matias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth for a conditional third-round draft pick in 2027 before re-signing fellow forward Steven Lorentz.
If Toronto reaches the playoffs and Maccelli registers 51 points next season, the pick becomes a second-rounder in 2029.
Maccelli had eight goals and 10 assists in 55 games for Utah last season. The 24-year-old Finn produced career highs of 17 goals and 57 points in 2023-24. Maccelli has one year remaining on his contract at a $3.425-million salary cap hit.
Lorentz, meanwhile, has agreed to a three-year, $4.05-million extension after producing 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 80 games in 2024-25.
Toronto reportedly signed winger Matthew Knies to a six-year extension worth $46.5 million on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
