Vegas HC Bruce Cassidy opens up about 'challenge' of balancing new $96,000,000 superstar's personal and team goals

Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1 in a sign-and-trade deal.

As part of the deal, the Leafs received center Nicolas Roy in return. Marner, a pending unrestricted free agent, signed an eight-year, $96 million contract extension with Toronto before the trade, carrying a $12 million average annual value (AAV).

The move allowed Vegas to secure Marner for an extra year compared to the seven-year maximum other teams could offer in free agency. Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy recently opened up about the challenge of balancing Mitch Marner's personal and team goals.

"I think it's ice time. I've gone through this with a lot of different players over my career. It's my job to get him to understand what the team needs from him, and it's my job to understand what he needs to be successful. You can't just hammer away on a guy and believe that he's just going to do it right," Cassidy said.

Cassidy expressed confidence that Marner's desire to win, combined with his experience, will help the Golden Knights achieve their goals, seeing no issues in integrating him into the team.

"He's a very successful player in this league. He just won a gold medal at Four Nations. I think that was good for every star player to see—what it takes and the sacrifice. So that'll be the challenge, and I don't see it being a problem for us. I think Mitch wants to win. He's been close, and hopefully brings us closer again," Golden Knights coach added.

Mitch Marner spent nine seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Mitch Marner opens up about joining the Vegas Golden Knights after his trade from Maple Leafs

Mitch Marner shared his thoughts on joining the Golden Knights from the Maple Leafs, describing the move as somewhat unexpected since he and his team were unsure of what would happen next.

Vegas was high on his list of preferred destinations, and after reflecting, he told his agent he was open to the trade.

“It was unexpected in a way, we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Marner said via NHL. "My agent called, we got the word on Friday night something might be going down with Vegas and Toronto and how that might feel with my wife and I. This was a spot very high on my list, we wanted to come here and I went back to my agent said I’m open to doing this."

Marner notched a career-high 102 points through 27 goals and 75 assists last season.