Experts Dub Golden Knights ‘Team to Beat’ in Marner Sweepstakes

It feels like this Mitch Marner saga has stretched on for months, but in reality, it’s been less than one. On May 24th– just 30 days ago– Pierre LeBrun reported that the superstar was interested in the Vegas Golden Knights. Since then, there’s been more smoke coming from the Marner-Sin City connection than you’d expect to see at a Pink Floyd concert. 

On May 30th, Elliotte Friedman reported that the Golden Knights kicked the tires on Marner last summer. However, those talks ended when the Toronto Maple Leafs asked for defenseman Shea Theodore. 

On June 9th, James Mirtle reported that the discussions picked up again around the 2025 Trade Deadline. The Golden Knights and the Maple Leafs attempted to bring a third team into the fray but, once again, failed to get the trade across the finish line.

On Saturday, Pierre LeBrun reported that Marner could be considering a shorter-term deal in the two-to-three-year range. He wrote that the Golden Knights, the Dallas Stars, and the Los Angeles Kings are “among the teams believed to be high on Marner’s list.”

Anything can happen over the next nine days, but it’s not often that there’s no fire behind this much smoke. And on Monday’s aptly titled episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman poured a 64-ounce bottle of lighter fluid on said fire. 

“I just think there’s a lot of people who, when the time comes, want to see what Vegas offers,” began Friedman. “This is the week you sit down to start figuring out, ‘Ok, who do I think is going where? Who’s going here, who’s going there?’

“I think there’s a lot of people wondering, ‘Is Vegas the team to beat here?’ Friedman finished. “If you ask most people about Marner… rightly or wrongly, they think that Vegas is the team to beat.”

Of course, it’s not that simple. If they want Marner, the Golden Knights must first shed salary to fit him under the cap. However, in that particular skill set, no team in the league is better than Vegas.

Remember, folks: the house always wins.

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