Mitch Marner makes his feelings known about his $80,000,000 Golden Knights teammate

Mitch Marner is settling in with the Vegas Golden Knights after being traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs on the first day of free agency. Marner spent nine years in Toronto and had his career's first 100-point season there. In Vegas, he will play alongside Jack Eichel, who is in the final year of his eight-year, $80 million contract.

Marner spoke with ESPN’s Kristen Shilton about Eichel’s personality and style in an interview published on Wednesday.

"Jack's pretty good at chirping," Marner said about Eichel with a smile. "I'm going to join the group here soon enough doing more of that. I like to hear it too. Lot of loud mouths in here, which is great. I like that."

Marner added that he enjoys the loud, high-energy atmosphere in the Golden Knights locker room.

"If you want to be a part of a team, you want to have guys poking one another," Marner said. "It's been a lot of fun to be here."

Mitch Marner joined Vegas after signing an eight-year, $96 million deal with Toronto. The Maple Leafs received forward Nicolas Roy in return. Now, the plan is for Marner to play on the top line with Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. He has suited up in the preseason and is currently taking his time to adjust.

Talking about Eichel’s skill on the ice, he said:

"He's got that aura, just got the swagger in him. He's got that calmness out there. It looks like he's not moving so fast, but his speed is outrageous. He gets really going quickly."

Marner wants to find Eichel in open areas and take advantage of his vision.

"And for me, it's just trying to utilize that as much as I can, trying to find him in spots where maybe it's not a direct pass, it's laying a puck in the area and trusting his speed to get in," Marner said. "I'll find areas that he can make plays into because his vision and his ability to make plays is really high-end."

Knights GM on Mitch Marner improving Vegas' offense

The Vegas Golden Knights have made the playoffs in seven of their first eight seasons. They won the Stanley Cup in 2023 but have struggled since then. General manager Kelly McCrimmon said adding Mitch Marner improves their offense.

"We wanted to improve our team on the wings," McCrimmon said in early July. "We wanted to improve the offense from our wingers if that was a possibility for us, and Mitch Marner does all that."

McCrimmon called Marner one of the best forwards in the league. The Golden Knights open their regular season on Oct. 8 against the LA Kings.