Insider drops interesting trade proposal for Mitch Marner

At this rate with all the rumours, chatter, and conversations revolving around Marner, it might be the best case scenario for all parties involved to rip it off like a bandaid and move onto greener pastures. Of course he carries a full no-movement clause in the final year of his contract but it can't be easy being in the spotlight for the wrong reasons on a near daily basis.

Friedman joined Leafs Morning Take and divulged into some of the things he's heard about Marner lately. He added that people in the industry have approached him and name dropped the Vegas Golden Knights as a potential team of interest:

The Golden Knights have shown a proclivity to make big moves over the years and they have not shied away from trading core pieces to make that happen. They've acquired players like Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, and Noah Hanifin through trades in recent memory as well as signing free agents to big money contracts like Alex Pietrangelo. Going out and swinging for the fences on a player of Marner's ilk is right up their alley and it could work out for both sides.

The Golden Knights have the luxury of a strong tandem in Thompson and Adin Hill and with both goaltenders due for new contracts in the summer of 2025, it's hard to believe they can re-sign both of them. On the backend, they just recently extended Hanifin to an 8-year deal and with Theodore set to become a free agent in 2025 as well, it only makes sense for the Golden Knights to look elsewhere.

While the cap is tight in Vegas, they always find a way to make things work. Granted this year might be a little tougher than usual with Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson potentially walking into free agency but that pushes the envelope even further for the Knights to look for more offensive pieces on the trade market - like Marner.

The money would have to work for both sides considering Marner has a 10.9 million dollar cap hit versus Theodore's 5.2 million AAV and Thompson's 766,667 AAV but it would be a benefit for the Leafs as well. They would be acquiring a top-2 defenseman in Theodore and adding an underrated netminder to ease the load off of Joseph Woll. Not to mention that Woll and Thompson would have matching AAVs and would come in at a combined rate of around 1.5 million, which is absolutely absurd.

Theodore is coming off an injury plagued couple of seasons as he played in just 55 games in 2022-23 and 47 games this past season but he still managed to score 41 points and 42 points, respectively. He has 306 points in 497 career games while averaging 21:17 ATOI and holding a plus-68 rating. In the post-season he has been even better with 60 points in 94 contests including 19 points in 20 games in 2019-20.

Thompson on the other hand went 25-14-5 in 46 games this year with a .908 SV% and a 2.70 G.A.A. The year prior he went 21-13-3 with a .915 SV% and a 2.65 G.A.A. in 37 games while in a timeshare with Hill. He didn't appear in any playoff games in 2022-23 but this year he went 2-2 with a .921 SV% and 2.35 G.A.A. during their first round defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars.

If there is a team out there that is bold enough to make a move for Marner it is assuredly the Golden Knights. If there is a team out there that Marner is willing to waive his no-movement clause for, one would have to believe the Golden Knights would be one of them.

It's a trade that would make sense for both sides - as long as the money works out for both teams - and it would be one of those rare moves that results in a win-win situation.

Source for Thompson's stats: Hockey DB