The Vegas Golden Knights were reported to be in sign-and-trade discussions with the Toronto Maple Leafs involving Mitch Marner.
Many speculated that Nic Hague would be one of the pieces going back to Toronto to make the deal line up.
But on Sunday night, Hague was traded from Vegas to Nashville, per multiple reports.
All of a sudden, the believed-to-be structure for the sign-and-trade was dead.
And if that’s dead, Toronto may not be able to recoup any value for Marner before he leaves.
The Golden Knights could’ve even chose to make this trade in part to spite the Maple Leafs’ hopes of getting anything in return for Marner.
MORE: The reason Mitch Marner doesn’t want to return to the Maple Leafs
The reality is, he’ll be impactful on the ice in Vegas regardless of how he gets there. If the Golden Knights want to just welcome him in as a free agent, he’s likely just fine with that.
A Marner contract with Vegas could only be seven years if he just goes there in free agency, but that’s probably fine. It’s really about the destination and the journey to come, and it seems like Marner is narrowing all the information down little by little.
Once everything is figured out elsewhere, then the implications here can be considered more fully.
In the end, the Maple Leafs might not get anything for Marner, which wouldn’t be unexpected but would still a bummer for Toronto.
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