‘He was the player we wanted’: Marner, Knights excited to join forces

City National Arena’s video board displayed a “welcome” graphic. Brand new No. 93 jerseys were stocked in the team store.

The Golden Knights rolled out the red carpet for Mitch Marner on Tuesday, welcoming their newest star to Las Vegas on the first day of NHL free agency.

The 28-year-old right wing, in his first comments since being acquired by the Knights in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, said he wanted to spend the rest of his prime playing at T-Mobile Arena.

Marner signed an eight-year, $96 million contract as part of the deal. The Maple Leafs got center Nicolas Roy from the Knights in return.

“Honestly, the winning regimen they’ve put up the last five years and since they’ve been in the league, they’ve got such a competitive team every year,” Marner said. “It seemed like everything was a pretty good fit.”

How they got here

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said the deal to acquire Marner was agreed to Friday.

McCrimmon said Toronto initiated talks around the trade deadline about a potential three-team deal that could have brought Marner to the Knights then, but it fell through. The team resolved to pursue Marner as a free agent instead.

“He was the player we wanted,” McCrimmon said.

The Knights ultimately traded for Marner because that allowed them to offer him an eight-year contract. Free agents can sign for a maximum of seven years. Marner, if he wanted to match the $96 million he received on his new deal, would have had a $13.7 million annual cap hit on a seven-year contract.

His $12 million average annual value will still be tied for the fifth-highest in the NHL next season and tied for the highest among wingers with Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen.

“The eighth year really helped us in terms of what the AAV might be for his contract,” McCrimmon said.

The Knights moved Roy, who has two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3 million, to help free up enough space to sign Marner. McCrimmon denied reports that other players — like centers Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson — were also available to give the team extra flexibility.

“It’s shameful, to be honest, that I’ve got to phone William Karlsson and say, ‘Karly, I’m sorry you’ve got to go through this (expletive). You’re not for trade. Tomas, relax. You’re not for trade.’ That’s ridiculous,” McCrimmon said.

‘I was very happy’

Marner said he let his agent, Darren Ferris, know there were a few teams he was interested in meeting with if he became a free agent at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

But then he got the call from McCrimmon on Friday.

“I was very happy, very fortunate,” Marner said. “We thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we wanted to be. We didn’t want to lose that opportunity and we wanted to join this hockey team.”

McCrimmon wanted to avoid competing with other teams for Marner’s services.

“We didn’t want to be in a position where it’s July 1, we’re making a presentation, three or four other teams are making a presentation,” McCrimmon said. “You never know who can come out of nowhere to win the day in a situation like that.”

New beginnings

Marner is the latest marquee addition to a franchise that still has championship aspirations.

He arrives as one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. Marner, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 draft, scored a career-high 102 points last season and also received votes for the Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward for the seventh year in a row.

He will be the first Knights player to wear No. 93. He wore it in junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights.

Joining Marner, a native of Markham, Ontario, in Las Vegas on Tuesday were his wife Stephanie, his 2-month-old son Miles and his parents Paul and Bonnie. He’s excited for his next chapter, but he knows he’ll face lofty expectations.

“You want to hoist that Stanley Cup,” Marner said. “This team has shown that they can do it. I’m lucky enough to hopefully be a piece to help bring it back here.”

Pietrangelo likely done

The Knights, in addition to trading Roy, were able to add Marner because defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will be placed on long-term injured reserve.

The Knights announced Monday that Pietrangelo is stepping away from hockey because of a hip injury. The 35-year-old still has two years remaining on his contract with an $8.8 million cap hit.

McCrimmon said it is unlikely that Pietrangelo will play again. Pietrangelo has 637 points in 1,087 NHL games and is a two-time Stanley Cup champion as well as an Olympic gold medalist.

“I’ve never met a person like him,” McCrimmon said. “We’re not a Stanley Cup champion without (Pietrangelo) having been part of our organization. He’s touched a lot of people in the organization and those are things we hope that continue and carry on and get passed down.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.