Reported Return for Maple Leafs in Mitch Marner Trade Leaves Fans Upset and Underwhelmed

Well, it's finally over; Mitch Marner has been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, with the Leafs signing him to an 8-year deal as a part of the whole process.

There are sure to be some mixed feelings among the fanbase, but one thing that I'm sure that most will agree on, if true, is that the reported return for Marner seems incredibly low.

According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the return for Marner on his shiny new 8-year deal worth $12M per season is only center Nicolas Roy, who was previously linked to the Leafs in the deal.

The Leafs were believed to be considering filing tampering charges against the Golden Knights if Marner did indeed have a handshake deal in place with Vegas ahead of July 1st, which many believed cornered Vegas into negotiating a sign and trade to avoid such a filing.

The Golden Knights appear to have held all of the negotiating power here, as it was already known that Marner favoured Vegas if he left Toronto. Marner and his family have reportedly already been looking at homes in the Las Vegas area.

Obviously, the return seems very light, and it may infuriate a large contingent of the fan base, but Nic Roy is a useful piece, and is certainly better than the pocket lint that they would have received if Marner went to free agency and visited a few NHL cities and waited a week or two until things cooled down to sign with Vegas once the heat was off of him.