Flames stay quiet in free-agency. That should be reassuring
The Calgary Flames have a plan, and they're sticking to it.
That plan does not involve handing out long-term contracts to veterans. Not in 2023, not in 2024 and not on Tuesday, when the NHL's free-agency market officially opened for 2025.
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The plan isn't simple, but it's easy enough to explain: The Flames are trying to stay in playoff contention while building through the draft. That's it. That's the plan, or the basic outline of it, at least.
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They'll keep their cap flexibility until they're ready to make a move. If the right player becomes available, sure, they'll have a go, but when the Los Angeles Kings are handing out sweetheart four year deals that pay Cody Ceci US$4.5-million annually the way they did Tuesday, there just aren't that many bargain deals and short-term contracts out there.
And so, the Flames were quiet on Tuesday. They didn't go out and spend money to try to make sure they got a few lucrative playoff pay-days for ownership next spring.
That should be reassuring.
They signed veteran blueliner Joel Hanley only hours before he was set to hit the market. He partnered well with MacKenzie Weegar and they were able to get him on a two-year deal.
They waved a grateful goodbye to backup goalie Dan Vladar, who signed with the Philadelphia Flyers. They'll need to find a replacement. Maybe that's Calgary Wranglers backstop Devin Cooley, or maybe it's Ivan Prosvetov, who they were heavily linked to on Tuesday.
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They also added Nick Cicek, too, but he's a 25-year-old defenceman who spent all of last year in Germany. He's probably not the move-the-needle type.
That was it.
Underwhelming? Anti-climatic? Maybe, but the Flames stuck to their plan.
And even people who aren't convinced the plan will work out must at least see that having one and sticking to it is better than the alternative.
'In free-agency, there is going to come a time when we are going to go out and identify guys and get guys because we're right there,' said Flames GM Craig Conroy. 'To do it right now just for the sake of doing it, because today is free-agency, just doesn't make sense. It's not part of the plan.
'You'd rather see a young guy get an opportunity in a spot than a veteran guy who has played maybe eight or 10 years in the league and he's a good player, but where's the upside going to be?'
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If there's frustration about the Flames' lack of activity in free-agency, it likely comes from fans who saw the team miss the playoffs with 96 points because of the NHL's tie-breaker format and want to see the team in the post-season as soon as possible.
There may also be frustration from the contingent who believe that the team is better off tanking and trying to get a generational talent with a pick at the very top of the draft.
The Flames are trying to thread the needle and stay competitive while getting younger. On Tuesday, they prioritized the 'getting younger' part.
Some patience is going to be required, but it's also probably fair to say they are a grand total of one year into their retool process, The 2023-24 season was spent trading away veterans. The 2024 Draft was where they took Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin in the first round and started laying the foundations for the next era.
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Add Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter in the first-round this year and factor-in the impressive talent they landed in later rounds, and you can begin to piece together a timeline for when the Flames can begin to be more active in free-agency and add veteran help.
Those young guys need to develop into productive NHLers and that's never a guarantee. But the Flames' hopes do largely lie with them.
'That's what we've told the young guys we've just drafted, when we're going to be good, they're going to be pushing and being good for us,' Conroy said. 'We want one of those guys to be the Johnny Gaudreau or Matthew Tkachuk or even Sam Bennett. We're going to need some of these young guys who maybe we haven't seen yet to come and be that guy.'
That's the long-term plan, and the Flames are sticking to it. What does it mean for next season, though? Will they regress or find a way to make the marginal gains they need to earn an invite to the post-season dance?
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The spectre of a Rasmus Andersson trade looms large over everything and makes it hard to predict how 2025-26 will go. The return Conroy nets from that deal will factor hugely into how competitive the Flames are next season.
We know he'll want young players and/or draft picks in return and won't go fishing for veteran help.
The teams below them in the playoffs should be better, too. The Vancouver Canucks can't possibly be the same tire-fire they were last year, right? The Anaheim Ducks should take a step and you'd expect the Utah Mammoth to push to improve, too.
If the Flames want a better finish next spring than they got this year, Conroy sees the team's youth as being the key. Not guys as young as Parekh or Gridin, but the players in their early-20s who have already established themselves as NHLers.
'I'm going to need (Joel) Farabee, I'm going to need (Morgan) Frost, (Connor) Zary, Matty Coronato,' Conroy explained. 'Guys like this have to come in and play better for us and give us more offence and they're going to have to take a step. If they do, that's going to be the difference for us. Those are the guys, with (Adam) Klapka and (Martin) Pospisil, those are the guys we need to rise and be better, but they're going to play more so that's going to give them that chance.
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'We need those guys to step up, if they're a 10 or 12 goal scorer this year they're going to need to get to 20 or 25. We need the five-goal scorer in Pospisil to go to 10. We may not do it with one guy, we don't have one guy who is going to do it, we don't have two guys, but by committee, that's how we're going to have to do it.'
And maybe one or two others will step up, too. The Flames are hoping they will
If there's one thing the team's lack of activity on Tuesday showed, it's that they're leaving the door open to young players coming into training camp and earning an NHL job. Sam Honzek did it last year, maybe Hunter Brzustewicz or Ilya Solovyov or Aydar Suniev can manage it this fall.
'You're going to see more opportunity for our guys and a better opportunity,' Conroy said. 'If I'm a young guy right now sitting at home thinking 'Huh, they haven't done much. I'm going to work even harder this summer because I want to make that team.' It sends a little bit of a message to our young guys.'
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Cision Canada
43 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
NGEx Drills 46.8m at 9.55% CuEq plus 48.9m at 7.75% CuEq at Lunahuasi
VANCOUVER, BC, July 2, 2025 /CNW/ - NGEx Minerals Ltd. ("NGEx", "NGEx Minerals" or the "Company") (TSX: NGEX) (OTCQX: NGXXF) is pleased to announce additional drill results from its 100% owned Lunahuasi high-grade copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina. Assay results from four of the remaining eight drill holes of the Phase 3 drill program are presented below. PDF Version Highlights: Drillhole DPDH041 intersected: 8.30m at 12.38% copper equivalent ("CuEq") from 266.70m, plus: 89.10m at 4.09% CuEq from 581.90m, including: 38.10m at 7.07% CuEq from 605.40m Drillhole DPDH042 intersected: 48.90m at 7.75% CuEq from 281.70m, including: 12.55m at 19.05% CuEq from 292.25m, plus: 2.30m at 23.82% CuEq from 509.10m Drillhole DPDH043 intersected: Wojtek Wodzicki, President and CEO, commented, "The drill results in this release confirm and extend the known zones of high-grade mineralization, improve our understanding of the associated porphyry system and have discovered new zones, all while expanding the boundaries of the Lunahuasi deposit. The 46.8m intersection at 9.55% CuEq in DPDH043 is particularly noteworthy and extends high-grade mineralization well to the north of previous drilling. We now have enough confidence in the size and shape of three of these zones to provide them with names - the Mars, Saturn and Jupiter zones. Each of these zones represents a significant volume of contiguous high-grade mineralization which we plan to further extend and define with the next phase of drilling. Results to date indicate that these are just the first three of many additional zones that we have discovered in isolated drill intersections, and we are confident that additional closer spaced drilling will ultimately help to define them. With results from the final four holes of the program still to come and planning well underway for our fourth drill campaign, set to start in October, we are in a very strong position to continue increasing the value of this unique asset." Table 1: Significant Intersections Copper equivalent (CuEq) for drill intersections is calculated based on US$3.00/lb Cu, US$1,500/oz Au and US$18/oz Ag, with 80% metallurgical recoveries assumed for all metals. The formula is: CuEq % = Cu % + (0.7292 * Au g/t) + (0.0088 * Ag g/t). Estimated true widths are rounded to the nearest metre for widths over 10m and to the nearest 0.1m for widths less than 10m, as this better reflects the precision of the estimates. True widths should be regarded as approximate as these are derived from an estimate that uses a preliminary interpretation of the geological model and are subject to change as more information becomes available. Intervals greater than 300m are interpreted as bulk disseminated and stockwork mineralization and drilled width is equal to estimated true width. DPDH040 was collared on a new platform at the western edge of the drill pattern and angled to the west at -46 o to explore the up-dip extension of the vein system. Several mineralized zones were intersected as shown in Table 1, all of which extend the deeper zones upwards and remain open to surface. For example, the intersection at 554.00m to 562.00m is 314m vertically above the intersection from 842.00m to 855.00m in hole DPDH039 and may be on the same structure. On a larger scale, the 133.30m interval at 2.10% CuEq from 523.00m correlates well with the 400.40m interval at 1.72% CuEq in hole DPDH039, over 300m below (News Release dated June 19, 2025). Hole DPDH040 also intersected the far eastern edge of the porphyry system, starting at about 818m as indicated by the presence of porphyry veins and a transition indicated by the sequential copper analyses from enargite-dominated copper mineralization to chalcopyrite-dominated. The 359.30m interval from 818.00m to the end of the hole at 1,177.30m averaged 0.28% Cu and 0.12 g/t Au (0.40% CuEq) consistent with the distal part of the porphyry system. This interval is just over 400m north of the porphyry interval in DPDH027. DPDH041 was collared from the same platform as DPDH018, 22, 28 and 34 and drilled towards the west at a dip of -56 o to test for a southern extension to the Saturn zone. The 89.10m intersection at 4.09% CuEq from 581.90m correlates well with the Saturn zone and is located 150m below and to the south of the interval in DPDH028 and 100m above and to the south of the interval in DPDH034, providing a significant expansion to the zone. DPDH042 was drilled from a new platform on the eastern edge of the drill pattern and angled to the west at a dip of -48 o to test for both a northern extension to the Saturn zone and a southern extension to the Mars zone. The hole intersected a broad zone of very strong mineralization from 281.70m (48.9m at 7.75% CuEq), including a 12.55m section of 19.05% CuEq, which is interpreted as the southern continuation of the Mars zone structure. The intersection here is 100m south of the Mars zone intersection in DPDH032 (27.40m at 25.19% CuEq – see News Release dated March 13, 2025). The hole then continued to intersect a narrower, but high-grade intersection at 509.10m (12.20m at 9.36% CuEq, including 2.30m at 23.82% CuEq) which is interpreted to lie along the same structure as the Saturn zone 140m north of the key intersection in DPDH028. This interval includes a 0.90m sample at 68.0 g/t Au, consistent with the very high gold tenure of the Saturn zone. DPDH043 was collared at the northern edge of the deposit from the same platform as DPDH038 and drilled at an azimuth of 316 o and a dip of -54 o to test the northern extent of the deposit. It intersected the interpreted continuation of the Mars zone at 198.40m with a broad zone (89.60m) at 2.42% CuEq including high-grade intervals of 3.00m at 14.29% CuEq from 202.00m and 10.60m at 5.78% CuEq from 257.80m. This intersection extends the Mars zone by 50m from DPDH038. The hole then went on to hit a much stronger zone at 492.20m (46.80m at 9.55% CuEq) which included several much higher-grade intervals as shown in Table 1 above. This interval is thought to represent the first intersection into a new high-grade zone and clearly indicates that the deposit is completely open to the north. With these latest results, we now have enough confidence in the location and continuity of the three initial zones discussed in earlier news releases to name them and begin designing drill holes specifically to understand their geometry and extent. These three zones have been named Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, and we believe that they represent the first group of what will ultimately become several distinct high-grade zones within the Lunahuasi deposit. Jupiter is the initial high-grade zone discovered by hole DPDH002 - the first hole drilled into this part of the property. Mars is the shallow high-grade zone first discovered by hole DPDH014 and described in the March 13, 2025 news release. Saturn is currently the southernmost defined zone and was first intersected by hole DPDH028 and described in the news release dated April 24, 2025. All three of these zones, along with the entirety of the Lunahuasi deposit, remain open to expansion in all directions as we have yet to define any of the deposit's limits. In addition to these three zones, we have numerous isolated drill intersections that we are confident will develop into new zones. For example, Table 1 shows intersections from hole DPDH040 (8.00m at 11.42% CuEq) and DPDH043 (46.80m at 9.55% CuEq) which, along with multiple intersections in other holes, appear to represent additional high-grade zones which will be defined with more drilling. The Phase 3 drill program was completed on May 8, 2025, with a total of 25,003m drilled in 24 holes and all field activities have now been concluded. We are now focused on advancing our geological interpretation and building out the deposit model during the austral winter season before finalizing and announcing our Phase 4 program plans in the upcoming months. Full assays for the final four holes of the Phase 3 program representing 2,360m of drill core are pending. Table 2: Assay Intervals by News Release Date Hole ID Feb 19 2025 Mar 13 Apr 24 2025 May 21 2025 June 18 Jul-02 Pending 2025 2025 2025 DPDH024 757.0-968 - - - None DPDH025 652.0-1303.8 - - - None DPDH026 553.0-1261.2 - - - None DPDH027 459.0-1075.1 - - 1015.1-2005.0 None DPDH028 588.0-1530.7 - - - None DPDH029 0-1060.0 - - 1060.0-1600.0 None DPDH030 0-502.9 - - None DPDH031 0-860.0 - - None DPDH032 0-573.0 573.0-896.1 - None DPDH033 0-475.8 475.8-1235.0 - None DPDH034 0-353.3 353.3-1329.7 - None DPDH035 0-273.5 273.5-1073.0 - None DPDH036 0-1105.2 None DPDH037 0-1196.1 None DPDH038 0-785.0 None DPDH039 0-1200.8 None DPDH040 0-1177.3 None DPDH041 0-1098.5 None DPDH042 0-891.5 None DPDH043 0-554.0 None DPDH044 All DPDH045 All DPDH046 All DPDH047 All Qualified Persons and Technical Notes The scientific and technical disclosure included in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Bob Carmichael, who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Carmichael is Vice President, Exploration for the Company. Samples were cut at NGEx's operations base in San Juan, Argentina by Company personnel. Diamond drill core was sawed and then sampled in maximum 2-meter intervals, stopping at geological boundaries. Core diameter is a mix of PQ, HQ and NQ depending on the depth of the drill hole. Samples were bagged, tagged, and packaged for shipment by truck to the ALS preparation laboratory in Mendoza, Argentina where they were crushed and a 500g split was pulverized to 85% passing 200 mesh. The prepared sample splits were sent to the ALS assay laboratory in Lima, Peru for copper, gold and silver assays, and multi-element ICP. ALS is an accredited laboratory which is independent of the Company. Gold assays were by fire assay fusion with AAS finish on a 30g sample. Copper and silver were assayed by atomic absorption following a 4-acid digestion. Samples were also analyzed for a suite of 48 elements with ME-MS61 plus mercury and a sequential copper leach analysis was completed on each sample with copper greater than 500ppm (0.05%). Sequential copper analysis involves the sequential leaching of the sample by acid, followed by a cyanide solution. It can be used to differentiate copper speciation, with copper oxide minerals leachable with acid and secondary copper minerals (enargite, chalcocite, covellite) leachable by cyanide. The residual copper remaining following the sequential leaches it typically contained in chalcopyrite and bornite. Copper and gold standards as well as blanks and duplicates (field, preparation, and analysis) were randomly inserted into the sampling sequence for Quality Control. On average, 9% of the submitted samples are Quality Control samples. No data quality problems were indicated by the QA/QC program. About NGEx Minerals NGEx Minerals is a copper and gold exploration company based in Canada, focused on exploration of the Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan Province, Argentina, and the nearby Los Helados copper-gold project located approximately nine kilometres to the northeast in Chile's Region III. Both projects are located within the Vicuña District, which includes the Caserones mine, and the Josemaria and Filo del Sol deposits. NGEx owns 100% of Lunahuasi and is the majority partner and operator for the Los Helados project, subject to a Joint Exploration Agreement with Nippon Caserones Resources LLC, which is the indirect 30% owner of the operating Caserones open pit copper mine located approximately 17 kilometres north of Los Helados. Lundin Mining Corporation holds the remaining 70% stake in Caserones. The Company's common shares are listed on the TSX under the symbol "NGEX" and also trade on the OTCQX under the symbol "NGXXF". NGEx is part of the Lundin Group of Companies. Additional information relating to NGEx may be obtained or viewed on SEDAR+ at Additional Information Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. The information contained in this news release was accurate at the time of dissemination but may be superseded by subsequent news release(s). The Company is under no obligation, nor does it intend to update or revise the forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made and information contained herein in the news release constitutes "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking information"). All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this document constitute forward-looking information, including but not limited to, statements regarding: the geological interpretation of the Lunahuasi system which is expected to evolve with additional drilling, the nature and timing of the work to be undertaken to advance the Lunahuasi project, including the timing of the Phase 4 drill campaign, the potential for further discovery and/or extension of mineralized zones at the Lunahuasi project; the timing of, and conclusions resulting from, an update to the geological interpretation at Lunahuasi, including the ultimate size potential of the Lunahuasi system, or the timing and/or results thereof; and the Company's ability to use information gathered from drilling to date to effectively target and drill in future campaigns. Generally, this forward-looking information can frequently, but not always, be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "projects", "budgets", "assumes", "strategy", "objectives", "potential", "possible", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "will occur" or "will be achieved" or the negative connotations thereof. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon various estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of management with respect to the nature, scope and timing of the work to be undertaken to advance the Lunahuasi Project. Although the Company believes that these factors and expectations are reasonable as at the date of this document, in light of management's experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, these statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, without limitation: the emergence or intensification of infectious diseases, such as COVID 19, and the risk that such an occurrence globally, or in the Company's operating jurisdictions and/or at its project sites in particular, could impact the Company's ability to carry out the program and could cause the program to be shut down; estimations of costs, and permitting time lines; ability to obtain environmental permits, surface rights and property interests in a timely manner; currency exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; changes in the Company's share price; changes to government regulation of mining activities; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation or remediation expenses; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage, fluctuations in the current price of and demand for commodities, particularly gold prices, as they are fluctuating currently due to market volatility; material adverse changes in general business, government and economic conditions in the Company's operating jurisdictions, particularly Argentina; the availability of financing if and when needed on reasonable terms; risks related to material labour disputes, accidents, or failure of plant or equipment; there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended, including those set out in the Company's annual information form and annual management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024, which are available on the Company's website and SEDAR+ at under the Company's profile. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as at the date of this news release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update and/or revise any of the forward-looking information included, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise. Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All the forward-looking information contained in this document is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Information concerning the mineral properties of the Company contained in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which differ in material respects from the requirements of securities laws of the United States applicable to U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE NGEx Minerals Ltd.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Former Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner looks forward to fitting into family culture of Vegas Golden Knights
Newly acquired Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner, left, poses for a photo with his jersey alongside Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon at City National Arena on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) LAS VEGAS (AP) — Family. Winning. Culture. All three have become synonymous with the Vegas Golden Knights through their first eight years in the NHL. They matched the attributes on Mitch Marner's list and why he agreed to a sign-and-trade from Toronto to Vegas, ultimately leaving the organization that drafted him fourth overall in 2015, two years before the Knights entered the league. 'Obviously, the winning regimen they've put up through the last five years, really since they've been in the league,' Marner said during his introductory news conference Tuesday. 'The living arrangements from talking to (Max) Pacioretty and Reavo (Ryan Reaves) just through the last couple weeks, it seemed like everything was a pretty good fit for my wife and I and our new son. 'And you know, the great players they have here. It's where we wanted to be.' Of course, a $96 million contract for a maximum of eight years didn't hurt, either. Both Marner and Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said it was important to get the deal done before July 1, when Marner would have been eligible to go anywhere else and would have been the most sought-after player beginning at noon EDT. 'This was a spot that was very high on my list,' said Marner, with his wife Stephanie and 3-month-old son Miles in the front row, along with his parents, Paul and Bonnie. 'We wanted to come here and went back to my agent and said I'm open to doing this if we can find a way to do it. A couple hours later Kelly called me and said we got a deal going on. 'We thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we want to be. We didn't want to lose that opportunity. And we want to join this hockey team.' Marner joins Vegas' talented and successful core of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore and Adin Hill, which has made the playoffs three years in a row under coach Bruce Cassidy, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. 'You want to be in a place where you want to win,' Marner said. 'That's the whole goal of why we do this, you want to hoist that Stanley Cup. This team has shown that they can do it. I'm lucky enough now to hopefully bring another piece in to help bring it back here.' The deal for Marner opened up after Vegas announced veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was stepping away from hockey because his hip injury would require bilateral femur reconstruction that McCrimmon said had 'no guarantee of success.' Pietrangelo going on long-term injured reserve in part paves the way for the Golden Knights to fit Marner in under the salary cap. McCrimmon said Tuesday he doesn't believe Pietrangelo will ever play hockey again. Marner, however, has plenty to offer the Knights, as the two-time All-Star winger leaves the Maple Leafs as their fifth-highest scorer in franchise history at 741 points in the regular season on 221 goals (14th) and 520 assists (fourth). The 28-year-old's 521 assists since his rookie season (2016-17) ranks fifth in the NHL, while he ranks eighth with 741 points. 'We're getting one of the best forwards in the National Hockey League,' said McCrimmon, who also said that conversations about acquiring Marner went back to the trade deadline. 'Elite playmaker, tremendous passer. ... Our fans will love this player. He really adds to our team. He adds to our offense. It gives us another F1 star at the forward position, which we really feel is important. I think that it improves our team tremendously. 'When it appeared that Mitch would be going to free agency, he was our target. He was the player that we wanted.' AP Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow contributed to this report. W.g. Ramirez, The Associated Press
Edmonton Journal
8 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Marner reveals factors for leaving Maple Leafs, signing with Vegas
Article content Mitch Marner on Tuesday night shed some light on his desire to play for the Vegas Golden Knights. In his first news conference as a member of the Western Conference club and clad in his new No. 93 Golden Knights sweater, Marner made it clear Vegas was his first choice. Article content 'We thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we want to be,' Marner said, referring to himself and his wife, Stephanie. 'We don't want to lose that opportunity, and we wanted to join this hockey team.' Article content Marner was joined by his wife, his baby son Miles, and his parents Paul and Bonnie for his first official day with the Golden Knights. In a sign-and-trade, Marner got an eight-year, $96-million US contract carrying an average annual value of $12 million US. The trade, which involved centre Nicolas Roy going to Toronto, officially was announced on Tuesday morning. Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who spoke at the podium in Vegas before Marner, said the teams agreed to a trade on Friday night during the first round of the National Hockey League draft. 'We made a trade with Toronto where we traded Nic Roy and for them to sign and trade Marner to Vegas, if we could come to an agreement with his representative (Darren Ferris),' McCrimmon said. 'We were able to do that over the course of a few days. It took a couple of days for the NHL to process the contract and then there were some salary-cap logistics between Toronto and ourselves that delayed the announcement of it a little bit. Article content 'We wanted to do a sign-and-trade with Toronto so we could get the eighth year on the contract. For us, the eighth year really helped us in terms of what the AAV might be.' Had the Golden Knights got Marner on seven years, to get to a total of $96 million, the AAV would have been $13.7 million. 'That impacts our ability to take the player onto our team,' McCrimmon said. The interest in Marner from McCrimmon and Vegas isn't new. The team has liked the 28-year-old for a while and tried to acquire Marner at the trade deadline in March in a three-team deal that involved the Carolina Hurricanes and would have brought Mikko Rantanen to Toronto. Instead, Rantanen was traded to Dallas by Carolina. Marner said he didn't waive his no-trade clause because his wife was 'seven, eight months' pregnant and they didn't want to go anywhere on a short stint. 'And I was still very committed to playing in Toronto, and wanted to focus on being there and finishing a job there,' Marner said. Article content That didn't happen, as the Leafs lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in seven games in the second round. Once Ferris told Marner that Vegas had recently renewed its interest, the decision among the Marners was made to work toward a deal with the Golden Knights. Marner also talked to (now former) Leafs teammates Ryan Reaves and Max Pacioretty (both former Golden Knights) about the lifestyle in Vegas and what to expect with the team. 'The winning regimen they've put up through the last five years (including a Cup win in 2023), really, since they've been in the league, they have such a competitive team every year,' Marner said. 'It seemed like everything was a pretty good fit for my wife and our new son. 'The winning aspect of this team really helped. Lucky enough, it all worked out. This is where we wanted to be.' For Marner, it sounded like a shift in thinking started to germinate in the past couple of years. Maybe he wasn't going to spend his entire NHL career with his hometown Leafs. Article content 'My mindset the whole time I was in Toronto, was that it was really tough to leave Toronto,' Marner said. 'To be honest, I didn't ever think it would maybe come to that day. 'Last year, or two years ago, we didn't win. We didn't do what we wanted to do. Stuff started kind of going a little north, little south. We didn't know what was going to happen. There were a lot of trade rumours all last summer. We didn't know what was going to happen in that regard either. 'As soon as the year started, we were ready to commit and play hockey and see what would happen, but at the same time, we were willing to take it to the distance and told (the Leafs) that was our plan. I was so grateful to play there for nine years.' Latest National Stories
