The Vegas Golden Knights have had a weird start to 2025-26. They have 28 points and a record of 10-6-8, good enough for fourth place in the Pacific Division. Seven straight losses in overtime or later will make fans start to squirm. But one particular name has been part of the weird start: Mitch Marner.
Sure, the big fish from the summer is tied for 12th in assists with 19. But there's more to the story than just setting up plays. Currently, Marner has four goals on the season and is projected for 14. In fact, he's projected to hit 79 points for the season, just below the point-per-game mark.
Mitch Marner is off to a great start with the Knights. About a point per game.
— Zeegs (@Zeeeegs) November 28, 2025
But he needs to find more confidence as a Knight, and it’ll come with time.
You realize how good of a player he is when you understand that there’s still another level to be taken.
That's been the thing with Marner. He's doing what he usually does as an NHL superstar. He produces and sets up solid scoring opportunities for his Golden Knights teammates. However, there's a bigger problem with Marner.
It's more about taking the initiative and scoring on his own. Remember that projection of scoring 14 goals this season? That's well below his 82-game average of 27 goals in his career. But his goals aren't the only thing that isn't meeting his average.
What's actually going on with Mitch Marner to start his first year with the Vegas Golden Knights?
Let's look at the goals problem from a shot-taking perspective first. Marner has 43 shots on goal this season and is projected to take 147 shots on goal. That would be a career low for the winger in his 10 seasons.
Therefore, the objective is simple: take the initiative. That means taking more shots and being the lead man on your line. You can only rely on players like Mark Stone so much before the burden falls on you. After all, going goalless in your last 11 games comes from not taking said initiative.
A perfect example of this is Friday's game against the Montreal Canadiens. While Marner had an assist that game, he didn't take a single shot. In fact, he had six such instances this season. Getting back to being the Marner that everyone loves (or despises, depending on where you are) starts with being more offensively aggressive.
An aggressive Marner equals a better Golden Knights team offensively
If you want a perfect example of a player who's taken the initiative this season, look no further than Jack Eichel. Last season, he had 233 shots, good for second-best on the Golden Knights.
This season? He has 101, which leads Vegas. In fact, he's projected to register 345 shots, which would be a career-high. People jumped all over Eichel for not shooting the puck more, despite being second on the Golden Knights last season.
Lo and behold, he actually took that to heart and started shooting the puck more. If there's a lesson to be learned for the new guy, it goes back to leading.
If Eichel can take the initiative and bolster his stats, so can Marner. It doesn't matter if it's on the same line as Stone or on the power play. Once the winger gets more involved in the Golden Knights' offense, it solves a big part of what's ailing the team.