The Vegas Golden Knights got an early jump on NHL free agency without even signing a player to a contract, and their franchise altering move could have an impact on the New York Rangers' offseason outlook. Mitch Marner was acquired by the Golden Knights after signing an eight-year extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and you can't help but think that another big move will be going down in Sin City pretty soon.
8 X $12M for Marner https://t.co/04I4Skg2Sg
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 30, 2025
The Marner deal, which is for $12 million and eight years, came in a little lower than most expected. If Marner was concerned about just getting paid, he could have taken a shorter deal and got a higher AAV before testing the market again in a few years. Marner taking $12 million, which is somehow a discount, could be a sign that Jack Eichel could be signing a contract extension soon.
This is of significance to the Rangers because Eichel is set to become a UFA next summer, and is a player the Rangers have wanted for a very long time. They were unable to come to terms on a trade back when Eichel was a member of the Buffalo Sabres, but the things that prevented them from trading for Eichel wouldn't prevent them from signing him next summer.
You might think that a Marner deal could be Vegas adding some insurance if Eichel were to walk, but I think that would have been more likely if his deal was shorter. Center is a premium position in the NHL, and without Eichel the Golden Knights' center depth gets pretty shallow after Tomas Hertl. Hertl, by the way, is someone who has been linked to the Carolina Hurricanes in trade rumors, and it would be pretty odd for Vegas to let him go if they were going to lose Eichel next summer.
The plan also seems to be pairing Eichel and Marner together, because that will allow Vegas to get the most out of their shiny new toy.
The detrimental parts of Marner's game - lack of physicality and intensity, unwillingness to go to the slot himself, inconsistency in big moments - are there, but Eichel as a running mate should allow him to do what he does best, and there should be less pressure in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/A4VRnA8Li9
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 30, 2025
So if all of this is to be believed, the Rangers might be closer to officially scratching Eichel off their wish list for next summer, and they will get a better sense of what is happening in the coming weeks now that Eichel is free to sign an extension.
In addition to the Eichel of it all, Marner being in Vegas means that he's off the free agent market. He was set to be the top target, and he could have drawn attention from many teams. The Rangers don't have a ton of cap space, and now every team that was interested in Marner is going to set their eyes on other players who did make it to market.
This means that they will face stiffer competition, not just on the big names left like Nikolaj Ehlers, but depth names like Andrew Mangipane or Anthony Mantha. Once someone like Ehlers is off the market teams will move to the next player on the list, and the absence of Marner means every player left could make just a little bit more which poses a problem for a team like the Rangers who are meticulously budgeting their salary cap dollars.
The Rangers were less likely to be aggressive in adding forwards, defense has remained their biggest need all along, but there remained a chance they would be able to try and grab a forward who could add versatility to the team and increase the team's overall floor for the 2025-26 season. At this point it becomes a wait and see approach for the Rangers.
It is possible that they might be able to add players via trade, teams that have missed out on Dante Fabbro and Ivan Provorov may suddenly becomes fascinated with K'Andre Miller or Carson Soucy, but that will be impacted by how soon other "big" names remain on the market.