Mitch Marner has already shown he can clear the 100-point barrier, and that matters now that he’s in a Golden Knights sweater.
He did it in his final season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, piling up 102 points with 27 goals and 75 assists. That alone makes the idea of him becoming Vegas’ first 100-point player feel real, especially since no player in franchise history has reached that number. Jack Eichel owns the club mark with 94 points in 2024-25, but Marner arrives with a résumé that says the century mark is well within reach.
The first step is the simplest one: stay healthy. If that doesn’t happen, the whole conversation starts to drift in the wrong direction, the same road Mark Stone has traveled. But if Marner holds up over the season, there are a few clear ways he can push into elite territory.
One of them is volume. Marner does not need to turn into a pure trigger man, but he does need to shoot more.
Last season, he had 165 shots on goal and a 14.5% shooting percentage, compared with Eichel’s 10.4%. That’s the kind of efficiency that can turn a bigger shot total into a huge point total, especially now that Pavel Dorofeyev is out of the picture.
Marner showed in the Stanley Cup playoffs that he can do damage when he decides to take over, scoring 10 goals.
The power play is another place where his numbers can climb fast. In 2024-25 with Toronto, Marner matched his career high with 27 power play assists and added six goals with the man advantage.
Last season, he had 19 power play points. With Dorofeyev traded to the New York Rangers this offseason, the burden shifts even more toward Marner to help drive Vegas’ attack on the unit.
And then there’s the chemistry piece. Marner’s postseason run was huge, finishing with 29 points to lead the NHL and come close to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
A big part of that production came with William Karlsson and Brett Howden, whose line posted the best xGoals% in the playoffs among lines with at least 100 minutes, at 57.7%. That trio is projected to start the season together, which gives Marner a setup that already worked deep into the spring.
That doesn’t mean the answer only lives with Karlsson and Howden. Marner may also end up skating with Tomas Hertl or Mark Stone at different points, and the same idea applies either way: the more he leans on his linemates, the more chances he has to pile up points.
In Other News...
Three Golden Knights Still Have Something To Prove Before Final Cuts
With one preseason game left before the regular season begins, the Golden Knights are down to the part of camp where every shift matters and every roster decision starts to feel final. Vegas is expected to trim the group to 23 players soon, and a few familiar names are still working to make sure they are part of that opening-night picture.
Adin Hill, Alexander Holtz and Rasmus Andersson are the three who stand out here, each carrying a different kind of pressure as the preseason winds down. Their recent play has put them under the microscope, and with final cuts looming, the last exhibition is less about getting through the schedule and more about showing the staff enough to make the call an easy one. [Read more 🡒]
Adin Hill Adds To Golden Knights Concerns As Final Cuts Loom
With the Golden Knights closing in on their 23-man roster, the last stretch of camp has started to feel less like evaluation and more like sorting out the details that will shape the early part of the season. Juho Piiparinen has already been sent to the OHLs London Knights after training camp, and there is still a spotlight on Trevor Connelly, the 2024 first-round pick who is getting a chance to skate with established players as the club decides how it wants to line up for Tuesdays opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The bigger concern, though, is in goal, where Adin Hill had a rough outing in a recent preseason game at a time when the Golden Knights could use calm and clarity. Preseason results do not always carry over, but with opening night looming and roster decisions nearing, Hills form is one of the details Vegas will be watching closely as it tries to settle the final pieces of its lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Face One Big Problem In Dylan Larkin Pursuit
Dylan Larkins name is suddenly in play again, and that alone is enough to get attention in Vegas. The former Red Wings captain has asked out in Detroit, and with his list of preferred destinations reportedly widened to include the Golden Knights, the fit is obvious on paper. He brings real scoring punch, plenty of pace and the kind of top-line presence that can change the look of an attack in a hurry.
For the Golden Knights, though, the appeal comes with the familiar catch of life under the salary cap. Any serious pursuit would force them to weigh the price against roster flexibility, and that is where a promising idea gets complicated fast. Vegas would have to decide whether adding Larkin is the kind of move that pushes a contender closer to another run, or the kind that creates a new problem while trying to solve an old one. [Read more 🡒]