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Mitch Marner Officially Unveiled as Golden Knight in First Vegas Press Conference
John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner spoke to reporters as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time tonight, joining Kelly McCrimmon, who was at the media availability.

The Golden Knights are a flashy organization that embodies the spirit of their city in every way possible.

With Mitch Marner being perhaps the biggest trade acquisition in team history, they gave him the biggest welcome in team history as well.

Marner was practically greeted like royalty as he entered T-Mobil Arena wearing a Knights jersey for the first time.

Early in the press conference, Marner told reporters how excited he was to be joining the knights, revealing that Vegas was his top destination, and possibly the only one he really had in mind.

One narrative that has surrounded Marner throughout his career is that he has always been under so much pressure trying to live up to the expectations of the Toronto media and fans.

However, Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon made sure to note that there is still pressure to win in Vegas too, especially as the team remains in their competitive window.

He also told reporters that the Leafs were particularly hurt by the unexpected flat salary cap environment.

Marner has 221 career goals and 741 points in 657 regular-season games played with Toronto.

He's coming off a career-high 102 point season to boot. Will he be able to replicate that without the help of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares?

Perhaps more importantly, will he be able to improve his production in the playoffs, which has been good, but not nearly up to his regular-season standards?

This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.

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