“No state income tax wins”: NHL fans react as Leafs' Mitch Marner completes sign-and-trade to Golden Knights with 8-year, $96M contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs ended weeks of speculation by trading Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday evening.

News of the trade wasn’t surprising as rumblings had the two teams working on a deal over the weekend during the 2025 NHL Draft. As part of the deal, Marner signed an eight-year $96 million extension. The extension carries an AAV of $12 million, insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed.

The news spun off a flurry of fan reactions. Here’s a look at what fans had to say about Mitch Marner going to Las Vegas.

“No state income tax wins again,” a fan opined.

“Raising your newborn in Vegas is always a good decision,” this fan chimed in.

“Is Mark Stone's back acting up again?” another fan remarked.

Meanwhile, other fans expressed their surprise at the news of the Mitch Marner trade being finalized.

Here’s what these fans wrote.

“@grok why would Marner take so little money?” a fan wrote on X.

“8 years probably to avoid the tampering investigation fully and completely,” this fan posted on social media.

“Pieterangelo's injury couldn’t have come at a better time,” another fan weighed in.

More details regarding Mitch Marner’s sign-and-trade deal should emerge as the evening wears on. The Leafs are expected to land a significant haul in this trade.

Mitch Marner trade believed to be one-for-one

Marner got his wish as it's been long reported that Vegas was his first choice - Source: Imagn

The return for the Maple Leafs on the Marner trade was not immediately reported. The speculation from various insiders was that the Vegas Golden Knights were willing to part with Nic Roy, a forward, and Nic Hague, and RFA defenseman.

However, that situation changed late Sunday night when the Golden Knights traded Hague to the Nashville Predators. The Predators then signed Hague to a four-year extension.

TSN’s Bob MacKenzie reported that the return on the Mitch Marner trade is now believed to be a one-for-one with Nic Roy being the piece coming back to Toronto.

If true, the underwhelming return would be surprising amid the discussion surrounding tampering suspicions by the Golden Knights. Elliotte Friedman discussed in his 32 Thoughts Podcast on Sunday that the Maple Leafs could file a grievance with the NHL.

Friedman noted that if the Leafs got a significant haul for Marner, the tampering investigation could be brushed aside. It is unclear what fallout could come of this trade, if any at all.