It's Day 60 of Mitch Marner watch. Or whatever. Everyone has lost track of the counter at this point.
NHL clubs are seeing the writing on the wall (or they appear to be).
They're realizing that the Vegas Golden Knights are the "team to beat" for Toronto Maple Leafs star, Mitch Marner. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had an interesting quote about the topic on his "32 Thoughts" podcast.
"I think there's a lot of people just wondering about, is Vegas the team to beat here? If you ask most people about Marner and where they think, you know, a lot of people are kind of like, they think, rightly or wrongly, they think that Vegas is the team to beat."Elliotte Friedman
Lots of "thinking" in that quote.
Of course, this has some unintended consequences. First, you MUST sign Marner if you're the Golden Knights. People are practically expecting you to do the deed at this point. So why not give the other fans what they want (or don't want)?
As for the Golden Knights fanbase, they want this. It's Marner or bust, you know. You can't back out from this deal and chicken out. Kelly McCrimmon must make the move happen since he's in the driver's seat.
Of course, that's not the only consequence of not signing him.
What happens if Marner gets loose and joins a division rival?
Imagine this scenario, dear reader. Mitch Marner doesn't get his deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. He opts for another premier destination. Let's say he goes to Los Angeles and signs with the Kings.
You could also apply this to the Anaheim Ducks since they're going all in. They just traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers and freed up some cap room, indicating a bigger move is on the way.
Regardless, you're put in a tough position. Now you must worry about the Edmonton Oilers in your division as well as the Los Angeles Kings and/or the Anaheim Ducks. Suddenly, the cries about your team's downfall are getting louder by the minute.
Forget that next year's free agent class has plenty of talent. You blew your chance at getting a solid two-way forward to put in your top-six. Cue up the funeral bells because it's over, Johnny (well, not really since you have Kelly McCrimmon). At least, that's how the fans will view a potential miss.
It doesn't matter if it's a two-year deal, three years, or eight. The ball's in McCrimmon's court and he must start negotiating, consequences be damned.