Getty Trade pitch sees the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Alex Pietrangelo.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner has been rumored to be traded this summer, and the Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the teams linked to him.
Vegas lost key forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson in free agency, so many have linked Marner to them in a trade to help bolster their offense. Website PuckPedia has a new tool called PuckGM that lets users create their own trades, and one user made a deal that saw Marner go to Vegas for defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, with other pieces involved.
Maple Leafs Get:
- Alex Pietrangelo
- William Karlsson
Golden Knights Get:
- Mitch Marner
- Timothy Liljegren
The trade is a 2-for-2, and on paper makes a lot of sense. Toronto would get an upgrade on defense with Pietrangelo, and also get some offense in Karlsson who recorded 60 points last season. He also has three years left on his deal that pays him $5.9 million per season.
Vegas, meanwhile, gets a game-changer on offense in Marner who can be a playmaker for Mark Stone and Jack Eichel. The Golden Knights would also get Liljegren who is a former first-round pick and can help replace the void of Pietrangelo. He also inked a two-year $6 million deal with Toronto this offseason but still has been mentioned in trade rumors.
Pietrangelo has three years left on his deal that pays him $8.8 million per season, but like Marner, has a full no-movement clause so he would have to approve the trade.
Insider Links Marner to Golden Knights
With Marner entering the final year of his deal, he has been the subject of trade rumors as many thought Toronto would make a bold move after another first-round playoff exit.
Back on June 12, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman linked Marner to the Golden Knights, due to their surplus of defensemen which would intrigue Toronto.
“One of the things with Marner is that a lot of people suspect that Vegas will be around it,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Leafs Morning Take. “Because Vegas is just smart, they are around any good player. So I got people hypothesizing Shea Theodore and Logan Thompson deals to me, for example.”
The popular name was Shea Theodore, but the one user on PuckPedia traded Pietrangelo and not Theodore in the Marner deal. Thompson, meanwhile, was traded to the Washington Capitals during the NHL draft.
Maple Leafs Coach Looking Forward to Coaching Marner
Although Marner has been the subject of trade rumors, newly-hired Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said he was excited to coach the skilled winger.
“He’s a character guy, a great person,” Berube said on June 29 after the 2024 NHL draft. “I’m looking forward to coaching him.”
However, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving wouldn’t give any update on any potential Marner trade following the draft.
“No update on Mitch,” Treliving said. “As I’ve said, I’m not going to do play-by-play. Mitch is a great player. We’re lucky to have him.”
Marner recorded 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 points in 69 games last season. The former fourth-overall pick has made it clear he wants to remain in Toronto for the foreseeable future.