Mitch Marner: The Superstar with the Stained Legacy? Also, other offseason moves and why this sign-and-trade could be pivotal for Toronto
- therookiereporters
- Jul 30
- 7 min read
After nine seasons, the Leafs’ core four is being broken up. Star right winger Mitch Marner, a Greater Toronto Area product, has been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights as part of a sign-and-trade that keeps Marner in Las Vegas for eight years. Even with other big moves taking place, could this move determine the outcome of the 2025-26 NHL season?
Mitch Marner: The Superstar with the Stained Legacy
While thinking about writing this article, there was one quote that really hit home for me. It comes from YouTuber/former Sportsnet staffer Steve Dangle, and it reads:
“No matter how many Stanley Cups you win, you’ll never achieve your dream.”
He then adds, as if answering:
“Yeah, I will. What are you talking about? My dream is to win the Stanley Cup.”
And then he answers, as if it’s a discussion:
“That was your dream? That was your childhood dream? Cause I thought specifically your childhood dream was to win a Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
That came from a post-game video published on his YouTube channel after Game 7. In 2021. Against Montreal.
You know what hits home the most about this? Not just that it’s still relevant four years later, but that Mitch Marner said almost the exact same thing in a statement he put on his Instagram account shortly after the trade was made official. The excerpt in question reads: “When I was drafted, all I wanted was to help bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto. That was always the goal, and I came up short.”
And Steve Dangle’s thoughts following that passage sum Marner’s statement up perfectly: a Cup somewhere else would be nice. But winning won’t feel like what it could in Toronto.
And he’s right. Sure, it would be great for Mitch Marner to win with the Vegas Golden Knights. Alongside stars like Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and even newly-acquired ex-Predators veteran Colton Sissons, Mitch Marner would be part of what could be one of the most star-studded Stanley Cup rosters in NHL history.
But to potentially bring the Stanley Cup back to Toronto after almost 60 years? Not only is that worthy of some of the highest honours, but it would also see him on Legends Row by default.
But now, it’s all a question of “what could’ve been” for Mitch Marner. And it’s also going to be a question of how people see Mitch Marner, regardless of how he does with the Vegas Golden Knights. Some will still respect Marner for what he brought to the Maple Leafs. Some will look on Marner’s legacy in disgust, and others will boo him when he comes to Scotiabank Arena for the first time as part of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Why adding Nicolas Roy could be a boon for Toronto
While losing Mitch Marner is a big blow to the Maple Leafs’ scoring depth, the team is getting a decent return in what was a player-for-player trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. As a Vegas Golden Knight, Nicolas Roy scored 68 goals and 98 assists for 166 career points, while also recording 406 hits and 187 blocked shots.
Considering those stats, not only does that start to make up for the loss in points that comes with Mitch Marner’s departure for the Sin City, but it also brings a more physical nature to this Leafs roster. Alongside the addition of former Vancouver Canuck Dakota Joshua, who tallied 74 hits during Vancouver’s post-season run in the spring of 2024, the Leafs now have two-thirds of the pieces to build an aggressive and physical third-line.
Whereas the third-line combo of Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen helped forecheck and score the Florida Panthers all the way to a second-straight Stanley Cup, Toronto is clearly trying to take a page from that playbook and build one of their own. And while it remains to be seen if it will work out in the long run, in the short term, it is certainly helping the team patch the wound caused by Mitch Marner’s move to Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers are keeping it together
In an effort to be the first team to win three-straight Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980 to 1983, the Florida Panthers made significant re-signings and extensions to put themselves on course for such a three-peat. Such moves include bringing back big-time contributors like Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand on respective eight and six-year contract extensions. On top of that, the Panthers still have the likes of Seth Jones under contract for many more years to come.
With Florida keeping its core together, one thing is clear: the Panthers are going all in on their bid to win three straight Stanley Cups. While there might be some fatigue throughout the year given that this Panthers team has been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, there should be no doubt that they will be the team to beat in the 2025-26 season.
Elsewhere, Kent Hughes effectively ends Montreal’s rebuild, while others look to bring their respective rebuilds close to an end
With Montreal getting back into the playoffs for the first time since 2021, the organisation’s rebuild got a step closer to completion.
And after this early-offseason frenzy, it seems that the Canadiens’ management is looking to end the rebuild sooner than expected. After trading first-round picks and winger Emil Heineman to the New York Islanders for defenceman Noah Dobson, Montreal acquired winger Zack Bolduc from the St Louis Blues in exchange for defenceman Logan Mailloux. Not only did Montreal get stronger on the blue line as a result, but they were also able to shore up their depth scoring ahead of a big 2025-26 campaign. Add that to the already-existing chemistry and experience seen up and down head coach Martin St. Louis’ lineup, and you have the recipe for a playoff return in the 2025-26 season.
But it wasn’t just Montreal that put themselves in a position to all but end their respective rebuilds. In the Metropolitan Division, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers are looking to end their respective playoff droughts, and both teams made big moves to try and take the next step.
In the case of Columbus, the Blue Jackets acquired winger Charlie Coyle from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for winger Gavin Brindley and two picks. Despite struggling to score in the first part of the 2024-25 season with Boston, his move to Colorado led to significant improvements in his game; he would end up scoring at a point-per-game pace throughout the final nineteen games of the regular season. He’s also been a key contributor for several playoff runs during his time with the Boston Bruins, something that will be of benefit for a young Columbus Blue Jackets team.
And with his teammate Miles Wood being part of his trade to Columbus, the pre-existing familiarity between the two should be of benefit for a Blue Jackets team looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
As for Philadelphia, it has been tough sledging throughout John Tortorella’s tenure as head coach. His late-season firing was followed up by the appointment of former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet; in his first full season in Vancouver (2023-24), he brought the Canucks out of the Pacific Division basement all the way to a 100-point season and first place in the division. While they fell to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the playoffs, he successfully made an organisation that couldn’t contend into contenders. Even when the locker room soured up the following season, they still finished with 90 points on the season. And even when he was appointed with less than half of the 2022-23 season to play, he had the Canucks on a 100-point pace courtesy of a 20-12-4 record during the final 36 regular-season games.
The Scarborough native will arrive in Philadelphia with a strong foundation to work with. Not only does young prospect Matvei Michkov have a full NHL season's worth of gameplay under his belt, but the addition of key players like Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak will also be key in implementing Rick Tocchet’s style of play.
Considering that Rick Tocchet was able to quickly turn a talented Canucks roster around, one should not be surprised if the Flyers consistently find themselves in or near a playoff spot throughout the 2025-26 season.
And finally, what is Carolina and Edmonton up to?
If one could summarise the early-offseason moves made by the Carolina Hurricanes, it could best be described as going from a Category 4 to a Category 5 hurricane.
One of the bigger moves Carolina made this offseason was the acquisition of former Winnipeg Jet Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency. The Hurricanes signed the Danish winger to a 6-year, $51 million contract that sees him join a star-studded offence that has made it to two Conference Finals in three years.
That isn’t all. The Hurricanes were also able to acquire defenceman K’Andre Miller via trade with the New York Rangers. While the loss was minimal for Carolina, losing only two picks and defenceman Scott Morrow to the Rangers, the Hurricanes’ defence is set to gain significant scoring depth and experience, particularly when it comes to the playoffs. To add onto the optimism surrounding this trade, K’Andre Miller signed an eight-year contract extension to remain a key piece in the Hurricanes’ long-term plans.
While the losses of Brent Burns (to Colorado) and Dmitry Orlov (to San Jose) will sting, Carolina not only remains in a position to contend for a Stanley Cup, but they could also find themselves as a contender for the President’s Trophy (awarded to the team with the best regular-season record) in 2025-26.
As for the Oilers, it's safe to say their offseason saw them fall off faster than Squidward driving a tank truck off a cliff using a slide whistle.
Spongebob references aside, the Oilers once again let all of their offensive depth leave during the offseason. Not only did they lose Evander Kane to Vancouver via trade, but they also lost Viktor Arvidsson to Boston in a trade that sent a 2027 fifth-round pick to Edmonton. In terms of the free agent market, the Oilers also lost Connor Brown (to New Jersey), Corey Perry (to Los Angeles), John Klingberg (to San Jose) and Jeff Skinner (to San Jose). All of those players were major contributors in some form during Edmonton’s two runs to the Stanley Cup Final.
While Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the other core contributors to the Oilers’ offence are still intact, the former is eligible to become a free agent after the upcoming 2025-26 season. Should the Oilers fail to win a Stanley Cup next season, the possibility he hits the open market would skyrocket.
That said, even if the Oilers do struggle throughout the regular season due to the exodus of scoring depth, I cannot see them falling out of the playoff picture. And just getting into the playoffs could be all Edmonton needs at this stage to put themselves in a position to go on a run and win a Cup.
But this time, there could be no excuses if they fail to do so.
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Article written by Noah Guttman
