Ladies and gentlemen, it’s over! After months of rumors and nearly two weeks of speculation since the Stanley Cup final, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner have finally gone their separate ways. And now we know why Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman stuck to his guns. “Vegas has been the team I’ve predicted [for Mitch Marner]; I’m going to stick with that until I’m proven wrong,” Friedman said on SN 590 – The Fan.

Well, with Mitch Marner becoming a Golden Knight, Vegas proved the NHL insider’s prediction right. However, Lefas GM had hinted at a very different outcome less than a week ago. While he didn’t say Marner wouldn’t leave for the Strip, he sang the free agency tune. “I’d probably describe it [that] unless there is significant change here, I would anticipate he’s going to hit the market,” said Brad Treliving.

Yet mere hours before Mitch Marner seemed destined to become a free agent, the Leafs and Vegas pulled off a sign-and-trade on June 30th. And at face value, it’s that the Golden Knights have landed a slam-dunk trade, signing Marner for eight years on a $96 million contract. That not only helps Vegas keep Marner’s AAV at a reasonable $12 million, but it’s also about how little the trade cost the team on paper.

That’s because the Toronto Maple Leafs got third-line forward Nicolas Roy as the only return for one of the best regular-season players. Yes, while Marner and the rest of the Leafs’ Core Four repeatedly disappointed at the Stanley Cup finals, he helped the Leafs top the division after 25 years. The disparity becomes even more apparent when comparing the stat sheet.

Roy’s 31 points (15 goals and 16 assists) in 71 games (regular season) during this season don’t hold a candle to Mitch Marner’s stint. Going into the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the 28-year-old had 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 81 games. So it’s no wonder the fans were absolutely stunned to see the trade go through. But was it a complete surprise?

The Mitch Marner Trade didn’t come out of nowhere

The fact that the deal came together just as Vegas announced the defenseman Alex Pietrangelo would enter LTIR stunned many fans. “How does Vegas still manage to do this every single season?” one Redditor questioned. The Vegas defenseman will step away from the sport for bilateral femur reconstruction, with “no guarantee of success,” as per GM Kelly McCrimmon. However, that will open up some space for another star like Marner.

Yet, like the fan said, this isn’t the only high-profile move the team has made. In March 2025, Vegas signed goalie Adin Hill, who helped them win the Stanley Cup after arriving in 2022, to a six-year, $6.25 million AAV contract. Look back a little further, and you’ll see the Golden Knights signing Ivan Barbashev ahead of their Stanley Cup-winning 2023 season. Yet, it’s not like Mitch Marner and Vegas never appeared in the same sentence before the trade.

In fact, there was a good chance Marner would have played in a Golden Knights jersey during the 2024-25 season. On a May 2025 episode of 32 Thoughts, Friedman revealed that Marner was quite close to signing with the Knights ahead of this season. So what didn’t happen? Well, as per the NHL insider, the Leafs wanted Shea Theodore for Mitch Marner, but Vegas simply refused.

And maybe that’s why some fans were so eager that they could finally move on from the Marner-Vegas rumors. “As a Leafs fan, I’m so happy this saga is finally over. I’m so sick of talking about this, and now we can finally move on,” commented a hockey fan. And that’s something the fan may not have been able to do if Marner reached free agency before signing on the dotted line.

Once again, Elliottee Friedman came with the news. “There’s been some talk that if Marner goes to Vegas, the Maple Leafs will go after Vegas for tampering,” Friedman explained on last Sunday’s 32 Thoughts episode. While the analyst stressed he had no proof such a thing would happen, the rumor still made the rounds. However, with the sign-and-trade done, that rumor is dead.

And then came those who were sad to see Mitch Marner leave and believed he’d thrive in Vegas. “I have a feeling he’s not gonna be a playoff choker anymore,” one fan theorized while commenting on the forward’s move to Vegas. While there’s a long wait between now and the next postseason, the end of the Core Four era may not be the death warrant it seems at face-value.

With the impending free agency and no guarantees of a contract extension, the Leafs didn’t want to lose their star player for nothing. In fact, GM Brad Treliving hinted at something similar before the trade. “You’d always like to get something, right?” The Leafs’ GM said about trading Mitch Marner, as Sportsnet’s Luke Fox revealed on June 29. So qualifying for Roy was a bonus for the Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for depth, and bringing in a dependable third-liner definitely adds to that depth. Then there are the other successful contracts the Leafs have already locked in. Toronto signing Matthew Knies to a 6-year, $46.5M contract ($7.75M AAV) was a big win. This season, Kines made history as one of only five players aged 22 or younger to score 25+ goals and 180 hits in NHL history.

A similarly huge win was signing John Tavares to a four-year, $4.38 million contract extension. Why is it so special, you ask? Well, Tavares went from the 9th highest salary cap hit at $11 million AAV in 2024-25 to just $4.38 million per year to play for the Leafs. Finally, some saw Mitch Marner’s arrival in the Western Conference as serious trouble for the teams.

“Why did it have to be the Pacific division?” commented one fan. While discussing such a comment without the hockey fan mentioning the team he supports would be hard, another comment revealed the bigger picture. “The West is getting harder and harder for the Oilers,” commented one Redditor. The fans didn’t see the arrival of such a high-profile player on their divisional rival’s roster as good news.

What’s more? This comes after the Dallas Stars assembled their new Finnish Mafia after signing Mikko Rantanen just ahead of the playoffs. While the Edmonton Oilers beat both teams this year, things could get more challenging as two new superstars prepare to embark on their Western Conference season. Yet, who do you think won with Toronto trading Mitch Marner to Vegas?