On the surface, some ideas sound entertaining. However, there are reasons why they’re non-sensical. This scenario with the Golden Knights looks at both ways.
NHL fans love creating their own trade scenarios to get big-name players. They pretend to be a general manager for a day and try to improve their team, whether it’s acquiring Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid for a bag of peanuts on NHL 24. Sometimes, these trades look decent, leaving a good impression on people. Others, not so much. That’s why most fans sit on the couch while general managers like Kelly McCrimmon make the big bucks.
See, regular people have grown to be more nit-picky and finicky, not being satisfied with what stands in front of them. They want something done the right way in their eyes. But what looks right to them might not be the case for others. In fact, it might leave them gauging their eyes out from said trade.
The latest trade proposal might fall into this category. It consists of superstar Mitch Marner and defensemen Timothy Liljegren going to the Vegas Golden Knights for William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo. It’s different from other offerings that featured Shea Theodore and Logan Thompson going to the Maple Leafs for the prolific winger. But with Thompson heading to Washington, that deal falls apart.
But let’s go to the original trade idea. Does it have any legs? It might sound good on the surface and help both teams. However, it must be examined further to see if it’s actually a good idea. After all, it’s rare to see a trade be a complete win-win, especially in today’s society of winners and losers. Let’s examine the pros and cons of the Golden Knights making this trade.
Why the Vegas Golden Knights and Maple Leafs should make this trade
From a Vegas Golden Knights perspective, the team gets younger with this trade. Timothy Liljegren is only 25 years old, while Mitch Marner is 27 years old. Compare that to Alex Pietrangelo (34 years old) and William Karlsson (31 years old), who will be free agents after the 2026-27 season. It sounds good, doesn’t it?
It’s something Kelly McCrimmon hasn’t shied away from, either. He’s moved older pieces like Marc-Andre Fleury in favor of younger stars like Robin Lehner. Other examples include Reilly Smith, who was moved to sign the more youthful Ivan Barbashev to a five-year, $5 million AAV deal.
Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this deal happen from that angle. The Golden Knights love younger players, especially one who regularly flirts with 100 points a season. If Vegas is desperate to put out one of the best top lines in the NHL, this could be the trade that puts them over the top.
Why this Mitch Marner trade doesn’t make sense
Let’s look at the postseason stats (since 2018) between William Karlsson and Mitch Marner to see who’s a better postseason performer. Clearly, it was Karlsson, who scored 65 points (28 goals, 37 assists) compared to Marner’s 46 points (10 goals, 36 assists). Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights have made it further in the postseason than the Maple Leafs have in that span.
However, some points stick out. First, a playoff team needs quality goal-scoring from each line. With Karlsson, he’s versatile in every sense, whether it’s on the second or third line. That also extends into special teams, where the Swedish forward is tied atop the leaderboard for short-handed goals in Golden Knights history. That’s not even mentioning what Karlsson does for Vegas regarding special teams.
A point was made about Jonathan Marchessault being a better option in the postseason compared to Marner. While Marchessault is gone, that’s also true here. The Golden Knights focus on winning more than the regular season, with players like Karlsson being a factor.
As for Liljegren, he’s not as polished as Alex Pietrangelo is away from the puck. Yes, Pietrangelo might be 34 years old and is seeing his physical abilities deteriorate. However, he’s still diving after pucks and can cover his zone efficiently. These are things that the 25-year-old Liljegren must improve to become a viable NHL defenseman.
The verdict
From a Maple Leafs perspective, it makes sense to trade the salaries since they’re close to even. Liljegren has two years left on his current deal and is a $3 million cap hit for both seasons. As for Marner, he’s in the last year of his current contract, where he’s a $10.9 million hit. On the surface, it sounds nice.
However, the Golden Knights must think about other ramifications of the deal. Is it worth having two years’ worth of Liljegren before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on top of a year of Marner? That’s especially true when he only has one assist in 13 playoff games (Pietrangelo has 13 goals and 61 assists in 139 games). Yes, sample size is a factor here. However, Pietrangelo does have a no-move clause (like Marner), which complicates things.
Still, that’s not to say they shouldn’t make the deal for Mitch Marner. After all, McCrimmon doesn’t mind getting younger pieces who will make the team better. However, it should be reworked to fit them better in the long term. The current proposal could be a short-term move that ultimately hurts Vegas in the long run. That’s something no team can afford during their Stanley Cup run.
