LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� Family. Winning. Culture. All three have become synonymous with the Vegas Golden Knights through their first eight years in the NHL.
They matched the attributes on Mitch Marner鈥檚 list and why he agreed to a sign-and-trade from Toronto to Vegas, ultimately leaving the organization that drafted him fourth overall in 2015, two years before the Knights entered the league.
鈥淥bviously, the winning regimen they鈥檝e put up through the last five years, really since they鈥檝e been in the league,鈥� Marner said during his introductory news conference Tuesday.
鈥淭he living arrangements from talking to (Max) Pacioretty and Reavo (Ryan Reaves) just through the last couple weeks, it seemed like everything was a pretty good fit for my wife and I and our new son.
鈥淎nd you know, the great players they have here. It鈥檚 where we wanted to be.鈥�
Of course, a US$96 million contract for a maximum of eight years didn鈥檛 hurt, either.
Both Marner and Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said it was important to get the deal done before July 1, when Marner would have been eligible to go anywhere else and would have been the most sought-after player beginning at noon EDT.
鈥淭his was a spot that was very high on my list,鈥� said Marner, with his wife Stephanie and three-month-old son Miles in the front row, along with his parents, Paul and Bonnie. "We wanted to come here and went back to my agent and said I鈥檓 open to doing this if we can find a way to do it. A couple hours later Kelly called me and said we got a deal going on.
鈥淲e thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we want to be. We didn鈥檛 want to lose that opportunity. And we want to join this hockey team.鈥�
Marner joins Vegas鈥� talented and successful core of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore and Adin Hill, which has made the playoffs three years in a row under coach Bruce Cassidy, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2023.
鈥淵ou want to be in a place where you want to win,鈥� Marner said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the whole goal of why we do this, you want to hoist that Stanley Cup. This team has shown that they can do it. I鈥檓 lucky enough now to hopefully bring another piece in to help bring it back here.鈥�
The deal for Marner opened up after Vegas announced veteran defenceman Alex Pietrangelo was stepping away from hockey because his hip injury would require bilateral femur reconstruction that McCrimmon said had 鈥渘o guarantee of success.鈥� Pietrangelo going on long-term injured reserve in part paves the way for the Golden Knights to fit Marner in under the salary cap.
McCrimmon said Tuesday he doesn鈥檛 believe Pietrangelo will play hockey again.
Marner, however, has plenty to offer the Knights, as the two-time all-star winger leaves the Maple Leafs as their fifth-highest scorer in franchise history at 741 points in the regular season on 221 goals (14th) and 520 assists (fourth).
The 28-year-old鈥檚 521 assists since his rookie season (2016-17) ranks fifth in the NHL, while he ranks eighth with 741 points.
鈥淲e鈥檙e getting one of the best forwards in the National Hockey League,鈥� said McCrimmon, who also said that conversations about acquiring Marner went back to the trade deadline.
鈥淓lite playmaker, tremendous passer. 鈥� Our fans will love this player. He really adds to our team. He adds to our offence. It gives us another F1 star at the forward position, which we really feel is important. I think that it improves our team tremendously.
鈥淲hen it appeared that Mitch would be going to free agency, he was our target. He was the player that we wanted.鈥�
鈥� AP hockey writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow contributed to this report.
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AP NHL:
W.g. Ramirez, The Associated Press
