Kelly McCrimmon Explains Why Nic Roy Had To Be The Sacrificial Lamb For Mitch Marner

Kelly McCrimmon Explains Why Nic Roy Had To Be The Sacrificial Lamb For Mitch Marner

Mitch Marner was officially introduced as a member of the Golden Knights, but he didn’t come free of charge. Nic Roy was sent to Toronto in the eventual sign-and-trade.

During the presser, VGK general manager Kelly McCrimmon spoke about how it all went down:

“We wanted to do a sign and trade with Toronto so that we could get the eighth year on the contract. The only team that can give the player the eighth year is the team that he’s on,” McCrimmon said. “For us, the eighth year really helped us in terms of what the AAV might be for his contract. If it was a seven-year contract, to get to $96 million, you’ve got an AAV of $13.7 million. That really impacts our ability to take the player onto our team.”

He also said that the Golden Knights wanted to get ahead of the July 1 free agency period by securing Marner early. “We wanted to eliminate other teams. We wanted to be able to create a one-on-one relationship with his representatives in terms of trying to do a contract. And that’s how the deal came together,” he said.

McCrimmon also said that the trade discussions at the deadline “were initiated by Toronto.”

GM Translation: What Kelly McCrimmon Really Said About 2024 NHL Free Agency Period

Here’s what McCrimmon is saying without saying it. They weren’t risking it. Not with how much cap space the Ducks, Sharks, and others have. It just takes one noob move by one of those teams to lump in a $20 million AAV out of nowhere and he’s gone. That’s why Vegas did this. They weren’t risking it, and they already made the corresponding move to replace Roy in the deal with Nashville, bringing Colton Sissons to town on a cheaper number.

It was kill two birds with one stone. Roy’s cap hit had to go anyway, and securing Marner’s eighth year with the cap was just a necessary piece of business to get done.

The eighth year brought the AAV down, and with the cap going up, it’s going to look like a wise choice that they did just that.

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