After playing nine seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and garnering 741 points in total, Mitch Marner parted ways with the franchise. The Vegas Golden Knights acquired him in exchange, sending forward Nicolas Roy and an eight-year, $96 million contract to the Toronto Maple Leafs. “Leaving isn’t easy. This is where I grew up, where I fell in love with hockey, and I’ve had the incredible honor of living out my childhood dream.” Marner said just after the trade was solemnized.
However, after the Golden Knights acquired him two days ago, a strong roster update hit the franchise. The NHL Public Relations reported that the Vegas Golden Knights now have a roster that includes three of the top five 2015 NHL draft picks. An occurrence which is now in line with the Florida Panthers’ three-star players, who were also top NHL draft picks from the 2014 NHL draft class.
The 2015 #NHLDraft Class will be well represented in the 2025-26 edition of the @GoldenKnights. They join the current @FlaPanthers as two of seven teams in NHL history with three of the top five players from the same draft year. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/DEKoUf1SPl
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) July 3, 2025
The Vegas Golden Knights’ roster now boasts of Jack Eichel and Hanifin, along with Mitch Marner. Whereas the Panthers have Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, and Conn Smythe Trophy 2024 winner, Sam Bennett on the roster, who were picked up by NHL teams in 2014. The Panthers won two consecutive Stanley Cup victories with Ekblad, Reinhart, and Bennett. Now, let’s see if the Vegas Golden Knights can replicate the same feat of the Panthers with three of the top five NHL draft picks of 2015.
This is a developing story…
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