The Vegas Golden Knights aced their welcome party for the Marner family. Mitch Marner received a warm welcome from his new team after being traded to the Golden Knights from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Marner was set to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career after his contract with the Maple Leafs expired on June 30. Rather than hit the open market, he was dealt to Vegas in exchange for Nic Roy and proceeded to sign an eight-year contract worth $12 million per season.

Golden Knights GM Explains Why Vegas Traded for Mitch Marner Early originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon didn’t want to wait for a bidding war when it came to acquiring Mitch Marner.