After nine seasons in Toronto, Mitch Marner is moving on.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly signed Marner to an eight-year deal worth $12 million annually, with the plan to send his rights to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal prior to free agency, per multiple reports. Though Marner has signed the contract, the trade has not yet been completed.
The 28-year-old right wing was set to be an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday; instead, he will be heading to Vegas under a contract worth $96 million total.
By acquiring the rights, Vegas are able to keep Marner under a maximum-length eight-year contract, as opposed to signing him in free agency, where any deal would be limited to seven years. Additionally, by working with Vegas, Toronto will be able to get something in return for Marner, one of their star players.
On Saturday, TSN's Darren Dreger reported that Toronto and Vegas were in talks on the deal, with The Athletic's Chris Johnston confirming soon after. Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving chose not to comment on the trade Saturday, but did tell reporters that the team would rather get something for Marner rather than letting his contract expire, via The Hockey News' David Alter.
Marner, a Toronto area native who was drafted by his hometown team in 2015, was the Maple Leafs' leading scorer last season, putting up 102 points, with a career-high 75 assists. At age 28, he has 741 career points in the NHL.
But Marner has faced a lot of pressure while playing for Toronto. For years, the Maple Leafs have fallen short in the playoffs, failing to make it past the second round of the NHL playoffs since 2001; much of that playoff pressure has fallen on Marner.
This season, after winning the Atlantic division with a 52-26 record, Toronto beat the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but fell to the Florida Panthers (the eventual champions) after forcing a Game 7.
On Thursday, Treliving told reporters that Marner was going to test the free agency market, signaling that an extension to stay in Toronto was less likely.
Toronto has tried to make chances to alter the team's postseason success, most recently choosing not to renew the contract of team president Brendan Shanahan in May. Now, the Maple Leafs may be starting next season without one of their stars.
Mitch Marner is on his way to Las Vegas.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights just one day before the star player was set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Friedman reports that Vegas signed Marner to an eight-year deal worth $12 million per season. Vegas needed to make a trade with Toronto by 11:59 p.m. ET in order to offer the eighth year. The trade ends much speculation about the player's future in Toronto. He had been linked in a potential trade to Vegas dating back to last season.
According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, forward Nic Roy is the only return in the deal, making it a 1-for-1 trade for Marner's rights.
Roy was speculated as part of the reported talks between the two clubs when word broke on Saturday.
Report: Maple Leafs And Golden Knights Discussing Mitch Marner Sign And Trade, Could Include Nic RoyThe Mitch Marner sweepstakes could end before free agency begins.
(Photo credit: IMAGN Images)
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Here are seven Hot Takes From The 2025 NHL Draft:
1. The Islanders were the overall winners for these reasons: A. They got the best player available; B. Matthew Schaefer could make the Isles varsity; C. GM Mathieu Darche was not suckered into sentimentality to take the Long Island prospect.
2. The Sharks added to their extremely young core with forward Michael Misa. In a handful of years, San Jose will become a team to reckon with.
3. The Rangers' choice of left winger, Malcolm Spence could have been a first-rounder. He'll prove to be a pleasant sleeper.
4. Mason West, the Blackhawks 29th overall selection, is the most interesting pick of the draft. The 6’6”, 218 pound forward, is also a Division I recruited quarterback and committed to play hockey at Michigan State.
5. Nashville’s fifth overall selection, Brady Martin surprised me. Nashville left a lot of talent on the board. That makes me wonder, did they fall in love with the person or the player?
An Intensive Opinion On Rangers Drafting 2025Except for the first four or five "Automatic" Draft choices, opinions differ when the 2025 edition is examined.
6. The Canadiens took a chance on LJ Mooney, cousin of Utah’s Logan Cooley, and he won’t disappoint. Montreal has a thing for developing smaller players, and Mooney is next.
7. Ethan Wyttenbach is an overlooked pick from the draft. The inaugural winner of The USHL’s Gaudreau Award, got drafted by the Flames. The same team that drafted Johnny, 14 years ago.
The Florida Panthers entered the off-season with another Stanley Cup championship and three big-name players on expiring contracts: Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand.
Bennett and Ekblad have been part of the Panthers' back-to-back Cup-winning core. Marchand joined in at the 2025 NHL trade deadline. Panthers GM Bill Zito has said they're discussing ways to keep all three of them, but there's little to no cap flexibility to make that happen.
Now, Bennett and Ekblad signed eight-year contract extensions, with the latter's coming to fruition the day before free agency at around a $6.1-million cap hit, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and TSN's Pierre LeBrun. It wouldn't have been a surprise if Ekblad got a raise on his previous $7.5-million cap hit had he hit the UFA market. Instead, the 29-year-old took a pay cut of $1.4 million annually for a total of $11.2 million.
Bennett, 29, agreed on an eight-year contract worth $8 million per year. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner was one of the top pending UFA centers after recording 22 points in the playoffs and a career-high 51 points during the regular season.
That means the Panthers have about $4.9 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia. They acquired goaltender Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets to fill in the backup role, but he's a pending RFA who also needs a new contract.
If the Panthers want Marchand to stay, they don't have much room to pull it off.
Marchand, 37, finished an eight-year contract with a $6.125-million cap hit. He had 20 points in Florida's Cup run and 51 points in 71 games between the Panthers and Boston Bruins during the regular season.
The Bruins' former captain is expected to get a raise, not a pay cut. TSN projects Marchand to make $8.1 million per year on his next contract, with Darren Dreger reporting the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth having strong interest in trying to sign him if he hits free agency. But Dreger also reported that the outside messaging expects Marchand to stay in Florida.
Since Marchand is over 34 years old, he could sign a one-year contract loaded with performance bonuses. The bonuses don't count toward the cap hit unless a team's potential bonuses exceed 7.5 percent of its total cap hit, according to PuckPedia. If the bonuses would have brought the team over the salary cap, that extra money would carry over to the following season, with the salary cap ceiling is expected to rise again.
Marchand could be the only Panthers player to carry performance bonuses if both parties agree on that structure. Another option includes deferred salary, which is expected to be banned in the next collective bargaining agreement.
Time will tell whether the Marchand and the Panthers stay together after a memorable run to the Stanley Cup. But one thing's for sure: if there's a will, there's a way.
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The Islanders announced Monday that they've signed defenseman Alexander Romanov to an eight-year, $50 million contract extension, keeping the 25-year-old in New York for the foreseeable future.
Romanov was acquired by the Isles in 2022 from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a first-round pick in that year's draft (No. 13 overall). Since joining New York, he's recorded 15+ assists and 20+ points in each of his three seasons.
The defenseman totaled 16 assists and four goals over 64 games during the 2024-2025 season. He also racked up 20 penalty minutes and was a plus-minus of +5 across 22:18 minutes on the ice per game, while leading the team defensemen in hits (147) and blocked shots (165).
Overall in 354 NHL games with the Islanders and Canadiens, Romanov has recorded 17 goals and 66 assists for a total of 83 points. Plus, he scored two points (one goal, one assist) over 13 career Stanley Cup Playoff games -- his goal in Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final made him the youngest defenseman (21) in Montreal team history to score in the Final.
Less than 24 hours before unrestricted free agency opens at 9 am PST on Tuesday, teams were to extend qualifying offers to pending restricted free agents before the 2 pm PST deadline on Monday to retain their rights.
2025 Anaheim Ducks Draft Grades, Analysis
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek on John Gibson Trade
The Anaheim Ducks entered Monday, the first day of their annual development camp, with just under $36 million in cap space, five RFAs on their NHL roster, and six RFAs on their AHL roster.
The Ducks announced they have extended qualifying offers to pending RFAs Mason McTavish, Drew Helleson, and Lukas Dostal from the NHL roster and Judd Caulfield, Sam Colangelo, Jan Mysak, Tim Washe, and Calle Clang from the AHL roster.
Center Isac Lundestrom (25), Brett Leason (26), and Josh Lopina did not receive qualifying offers and will become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday.
Isac Lundestrom was an Anaheim first-round pick (23rd overall in 2018) seven years ago and played 337 games for the Ducks, totaling 84 points (35-49=84).
The Ducks claimed Brett Leason off waivers in Oct 2022 from the Washington Capitals (56th in ’19). He played 184 games for the Ducks in his three seasons in Anaheim, scoring 48 points (22-26=48).
Josh Lopina was a Ducks draft pick (98th in ’21) who was never able to crack the NHL roster at any point in his tenure with the organization. He played three-plus seasons with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL and scored 44 points (20-24=44) in 203 games.
The Ducks now have 21 players on their NHL roster, including Helleson, Dostal, and McTavish, who just received QOs.
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Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images