NHL Trades and Rumors
The Tables Have Turned on the Mitch Marner Toronto-to-Vegas Move
The narrative around the summer swap of Mitch Marner and Nicolas Roy has quietly started to turn.
Mitch Marner’s decision to go from Toronto to Vegas will forever be talked about, debated, and scrutinized. The same can be said for his tenure as a Maple Leaf, which featured plenty of highs but also some notable lows in the biggest moments—ultimately leading to his departure.
We’re only halfway through the first season of the Marner-less Maple Leafs era, but that hasn’t and won’t stop the comparisons or lingering interest between both sides.
While the superstar winger has gotten off to a solid start with the Golden Knights, it’s been somewhat underwhelming relative to the eight-year, $96 million contract Vegas handed him this summer.
What often gets overlooked in the whole situation is that Vegas had to send Nicolas Roy to Toronto to facilitate the move. That aspect of the deal has stayed quiet for much of the 2025–26 season thus far, but with the Golden Knights struggling recently while the Maple Leafs surge, it’s added a new wrinkle—one team reporter, Jesse Granger, pointed out on Wednesday.
“This feels notable considering the Golden Knights are so thin at center right now…. Vegas traded Roy to Toronto so it could sign Marner one day before he hit free agency,”
The 28-year-old Marner has produced 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists) in the first 41 games of the season. On the other hand, Roy, 28, is up to 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 39 games, starting to find a fit in Toronto.
Maple Leafs-Mitch Marner Matchups Are Nearing
Revisiting the Marner-for-Roy swap from the summer is timely, as the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights are set to meet in two rare must-see regular-season matchups over the coming weeks.
Marner’s first game against his former team comes next Thursday at T-Mobile Arena as Toronto continues a four-game Western road trip.
Then, just over a week later, comes the big one: Marner’s first game in Toronto as a visitor. That showdown will take place Friday, January 23, at Scotiabank Arena, in front of what figures to be a loud—and unforgiving—crowd that won’t be shy about letting him hear it.
Given the direction the two teams are currently trending, the timing couldn’t be better for two storyline-filled matchups between the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights.
Next: Insider Expects Maple Leafs to Make Big Move Pre-Olympic Freeze
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