Last summer, Toronto Maple Leafs superstar forward Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. It wasn’t necessarily a shocking move; it seemed that it was either let him walk in free agency, or trade him so you at least get something back. The Leafs opted for the second option, and Vegas did a trade and signed Marner. This trade signified the beginning of the end of the core four era in Toronto, while simultaneously turning the once-beloved hometown kid and one of the most offensively gifted players the Leafs have ever had into public enemy number one in Leafs Nation. Marner has set career highs in goals, assists, and points throughout this playoff run, infuriating Leafs fans. On top of that, a lot of people aren’t big fans of the fact that he’s doing so for Vegas.
Marner joined a stacked Golden Knights roster, adding to their already very good forward core. Ever since the Vegas expansion in 2017–18, the Golden Knights have become one of the most hated franchises among other fan bases for a variety of reasons.
Vegas’ cap shenanigans
It seemed for a long time that Captain Mark Stone would be injured for a long period of time, year after year. He would then be placed on LTIR, which meant that, based on the severity of his injury, his salary wouldn’t count against the salary cap. Meaning the Knights have an extra $9.5M to spend on improving their team, trading for guys like Noah Hanifin, Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, and Rasmus Andersson. The NHL changed the rules this season to avoid situations like this. Even though Vegas is the poster child for circumventing salary through injuries, it was a league-wide problem. To avoid this problem, the NHL salary cap now applies during the playoffs. All players in your 18-player lineup must be under the league salary cap of $95.5M.
Vegas isn’t the only team to do this. It was a league-wide loophole that many teams took advantage of and used to great success; the 2015 Chicago Blackhawks, 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2023 Vegas Golden Knights, to name a few. I have a little riddle for you: what do all three of those teams have in common?
The Vegas Golden Knights remind me of the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL. Brooks doesn’t keep kids. If a kid won’t play in his first year, they won’t let him develop. They’ll trade him for a 19-year-old who can help them win now. Vegas does the same thing; they have one of their draft picks in their lineup in Pavel Dorofeyev. The rest of their lineup was acquired via trades, signings, or the expansion draft. They get hate for that as well, but clearly it’s working; they have missed the playoffs only once and now have three Cup Final appearances.
Why now for Marner?
If you’re a Leafs fan, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “How come Marner is a man possessed in the playoffs all of a sudden?” My theory is he’s not playing in Toronto anymore, so in a way, the pressure is off. Everybody knows that most players don’t want to play in Canada because they just want to play hockey, not be famous. In a Canadian market, you’re both. The pressure is off Marner, so he’s playing better because the Vegas fan base isn’t on him after every mistake, and I’d say right now, if Vegas wins, either him or Carter Hart will win the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Mitch Marner is currently leading the NHL in points so far in the playoffs. A lot of Leafs fans argue that, since Vegas has played Utah, Anaheim, and an injured Colorado team, and they’re less physical, Marner is more effective because he isn’t playing against Florida. That’s a bizarre argument to me because they only played Florida twice in nine years.
This year, Marner has seven goals and 21 points in 16 games. This is the most Marner has had in the playoffs in his whole career. This is shocking to Leafs fans because, by some people’s standards, the Leafs were successful throughout their time with Marner, not missing the playoffs. However, Marner seemed to disappear when it mattered, putting up just 13 goals in 70 playoff games with the Leafs. According to Hockey Reference, Marner had six points in any possible close-out games with Toronto, where the Leafs had a chance to win the series. Six points in close-out games for nine years. Just in case you were wondering, none of those were goals.
This year, he has five points in three close-out games where Vegas had a chance to win the series. So, in one year, Mitch Marner has managed to almost match his total of nine years’ worth of points in possible close-out games. In Game 4 against Colorado, he had zero points and was minus one; that’s the Mitch Marner Leafs fans remember seeing for nine years. However, if Vegas wins, he could match or even beat his career total for points in close-out games.
Vegas’ continued controversy
I believe the Canadian market theory is also why a guy like Carter Hart is playing so well. He was one of the five players involved in a sexual assault case in 2018. After all five players were found not guilty, he signed in Vegas, joining a 2018 World Juniors teammate in Brett Howden. Howden testified during the trial. Every hockey fan has their opinion on whether or not any of those five players should’ve been signed, but that’s a separate conversation. However, watching Carter Hart play as well as he has, understandably, bothers a lot of people.
Even though legally, Hart and the others did nothing wrong, a lot of people would argue that, morally, they did, and because of that, don’t believe that Vegas’s signing of Hart was a good move. Seeing him play as well as he has and take over as the Golden Knights’ starting goalie. For Adin Hill, who split the net with Logan Thompson in the 2023 playoffs, this has been controversial. So far, in the 2026 playoffs, Hart has played every game, posting a 12–4 record, a .924 save percentage and a 2.16 goals-against average.
Led by a former Leaf who was being paid $10.9M AAV and always disappeared when it mattered, and one of the most controversial players in recent years, the Vegas Golden Knights are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four years and the third time in their eight-year history.
Watching Vegas win would be a lot of people’s worst nightmare come to life. The Golden Knights haven’t made any friends with the way they build their team year after year, and they continue to be a contender. Having said that, if I were a Leafs fan, I’d want my team to build that way going into next season.
