The Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs are similar in a sense. They're both polarizing figures in the NHL landscape, with many people hating both franchises.
The Maple Leafs are essentially the NHL's version of the Dallas Cowboys. They're deemed to have the most annoying fan base in the league, yet they're cursed by decades of failures. You'd have to go all the way back to 1967 to find the last Stanley Cup won in Toronto. Some people's grandparents weren't even born yet.
As for the Golden Knights? Well, take your pick among the many insults hurled. It might consist of the referees favoring Vegas in every game. It might be Mark Stone and the endless LTIR jokes. Whatever the case, people seem to have a hate-filled boner for the Golden Knights.
But a hockey fan's hatred for both teams starts veering towards a difference between the two. For one, the Golden Knights have been to two Stanley Cup Finals since opening up shop in 2017. In fact, they have a title to their names. You can't say the same for the Maple Leafs.
But let's play a game, dear reader. Let's examine three pending free agents that can bolster Vegas's chances of winning another Stanley Cup next season. Believe it or not, two names come from the "Core Four," and you know one of those names. However, one name will completely shock you.
1.) Mitch Marner
What more is there to say about Mitch Marner? The 28-year-old scored 27 goals and 102 points in a career year with the Maple Leafs. On top of that, he's never had a season below 60 points.
Sure, the price tag might be a mountain to climb (ScotiaStats estimates Marner to get an eight-year, $12.5 million deal). However, there have been rumors of McCrimmon moving some pieces around (*cough* *cough* Nicolas Hague *cough*). If the Golden Knights want to compete with teams like the Florida Panthers or the Edmonton Oilers, this should be the move to make.
Player | Goals | Assists | Expected Goals | Takeaways | High Danger xGoals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mitch Marner | 27 | 75 | 23.7 | 56 | 11.93 |
Jack Eichel | 28 | 66 | 26.3 | 28 | 11.25 |
Jack Eichel finally gets the complementary piece he's been yearning for (who finished seventh in the Selke Trophy voting, by the way). Adding Marner with a fellow Selke Trophy nominee would bolster the top line's two-way game to new heights, keeping Vegas as a Stanley Cup threat.
2.) Steven Lorentz
Historically, Steven Lorentz hasn't been much of a goal-scorer. You could say he's the anti-Mitch Marner.
That's especially true since the Toronto Maple Leafs are his fourth team in five seasons. One would think he doesn't have a particular purpose or is problematic for what a team's trying to do. However, that doesn't mean he's not valuable as a player.
In fact, he registered 199 hits with the Maple Leafs this season (81 games). The former Panthers star could pair well with Keegan Kolesar on the fourth line, bringing grit and toughness back to the Golden Knights.
3.) John Tavares
Regarding forward options, it was either Tavares or Max Pacioretty. Golden Knights fans will remember (not so fondly) what happened at the end of Pacioretty's Vegas tenure. Remember when he said the team "had no accountability?"
Therefore, that leaves us with John Tavares. The former Islanders star was actually solid for the Maple Leafs, scoring 38 goals and 36 assists this season. He got 12 goals and eight assists on the power play, leading the group to the eighth-best power play in the league (24.8%).
Imagine a Golden Knights team consisting of Eichel, Tomas Hertl, John Tavares, and William Karlsson down the middle. That would feed families for decades similar to what Marner and the Golden Knights would.