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Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)

Golden Knights News & Rumors: Marner, Smith, 2025 Draft & More

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Cooper Krigbaum | Last updated May 31, 2025 11:51 AM ET

The stage is set for the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, and it’s a familiar one. For the first time since 2009, the Final will feature a rematch, this time between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, who delivered a thrilling series just one year ago.

For the Vegas Golden Knights, the offseason rolls on. Just over two weeks removed from their first-round exit at the hands of the Oilers, the organization is left searching for answers. General manager (GM) Kelly McCrimmon now leads the charge into one of the most pivotal offseasons in recent memory.

With summer in full swing and temperatures already reaching triple digits in Vegas, we have plenty to discuss. We kick off this week’s News & Rumors with a potential big free agent signing heading to Sin City.

What’s With the Mitch Marner Talk?

Mitch Marner’s journey with the Toronto Maple Leafs has been anything but quiet. His regular-season production speaks for itself, but his struggles to deliver in the playoffs have fueled frustration among fans.

Marner leads the 2025 free agency class, and despite it not being nearly as strong as past seasons, a player like Marner will get a payday come July 1 (or sooner). There’s growing buzz that Marner’s next chapter could unfold in Vegas, with the Golden Knights reportedly among the teams linked to the superstar winger.

The only question is, given the Golden Knights’ constraints with the cap, how would Marner sign what’s projected to be a massive contract in Vegas? Well, the Maple Leafs could look to do a sign-and-trade, which is possible, but unless McCrimmon is desperate to get a player out, doing all that to get an eighth year on Marner’s contract does not make a lot of sense.

Adding Marner would create a superstar duo with Jack Eichel, and yet another offensive weapon. We’ll see what happens, but this is all just offseason noise for now, however, this is definitely something worth keeping tabs on.

Reilly Smith Staying in Vegas?

Given the Golden Knights’ past, many were expecting a big splash at the 2025 Trade Deadline, but they didn’t do that. Instead, they went to their roots and brought back Reilly Smith.

They traded Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick to acquire Smith’s services, and he had three goals and 11 points in the team’s final 20 games. Now, the original misfit is a free agent but has expressed his desire to stay in Vegas. Like most outcomes, it’ll come down to money.

“I think I play well for this team. I think the best hockey that I’ve played through my career has been wearing this jersey,” Smith said. “Coming to the rink, [seeing] familiar faces and lifelong friends, it makes it easy. It makes it more enjoyable. Playing on a winning team where you truly believe you can win the Stanley Cup every year, that makes it more enjoyable.”

Smith wasn’t the same player on the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that spark returned when he was traded back to the Golden Knights this spring.

“The first game I came back, I felt like there was a light switch that turned back on,” said Smith. “I don’t think the last two years have been the trajectory I wanted my game to go in. But coming back here, I felt like I was able to get my footing pretty quickly and feel good about my game again.”

It makes sense for the two sides to make a deal happen, but we’ll have to wait and see. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Smith in a Golden Knights sweater come next season.

A Look Ahead at the 2025 NHL Draft

The 2025 NHL Draft is near, which generally does not mean much for the Golden Knights, and that motto is likely to persist in Los Angeles next month. Vegas enters the draft with six draft picks, having no first or seventh-round picks.

This is the first draft since 2022 in which they haven’t had a selection in the top 32, but of the past five first-rounders they’ve drafted, McCrimmon has traded four out of five, so it likely doesn’t mean much.

Trevor Connelly, Mathieu Cataford, Carl Lindbom, and Lukas Cormier highlight the pipeline as we speak. It’s not the strongest, and it’s not expected to be, but they have a chance to bolster some depth with their picks in late June in Southern California.

Last season, the Golden Knights were active on the trade front, as they dealt both Logan Thompson and Paul Cotter on Day 2 of the 2024 Draft. That trend could follow into the 2025 Draft, with likely more cap casualties on the way.

Matthew Schaefer is the consensus first-overall pick heading into the draft, but Vegas will have to wait their turn on Day 2 to add to their system.