It’s officially the end of the Core Four era in Toronto, with the Toronto Maple Leafs moving Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign and trade. Rather than re-sign their star winger — or lose him for nothing to unrestricted free agency — Leafs GM Brad Treliving was able to make a deal that brought Toronto back another skater for the bottom six.

Nicolas Roy will be an indirect replacement for Marner in the Leafs’ lineup next season. A third- or fourth-line centre with the ability to also play on the wing, Roy brings a little size, defensive game and enough offensive pop to make a measurable difference to a section of the depth chart that has usually struggled to score for the team in crunch time.

Drafted 96th overall in 2015 by Carolina, Roy became a 15-goal scorer in Vegas and a contributor to their 2023 Stanley Cup win. As the Leafs seek to take pressure off some players at the top of the lineup and seek more all-around buy-in, Roy figures to be an important addition even though he will not replace Marner’s role, nor all of his point production. Two years ago, he scored a career-high 41 points.

Marner is, of course, the headliner in this deal and immediately upgrades an area of need for last season’s Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev, a 24-year-old, was a breakout scorer for Vegas and led the team with 35 regular-season goals. Brett Howden (23) and Ivan Barbashev (23) were the Golden Knights’ two other 20-goal scoring wingers.

In the playoffs, those three players combined for five goals.

Marner will give a great boost to the offence from the wing, coming off a 102-point season, and also defensive awareness. But also, as the Golden Knights react to a second early playoff exit in a row, Marner arrives with playoff demons of his own. In Games 5-7 of playoff series from 2019-25, Marner had zero goals and seven assists in 20 games.

This deal brings huge change to the Maple Leafs and a brand new opportunity for Marner to play outside of the spotlight of his hometown and reshape his legacy. He’ll also be changing his number from the 16 he wore for nine years in Toronto to No. 93, which he wore in his junior days with the London Knights.

So what exactly are both sides getting in this trade? For a closer look at Roy and Marner, we turn to our scout Jason Bukala.

To Toronto: Nicolas Roy 

By adding Roy, the Toronto Maple Leafs shore up a middle of the lineup position the team has been desperately shopping for the past couple seasons. The team can now roll out Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Roy and Scott Laughton as their four centremen. The balance of this group is much better than the patchwork efforts they have applied in the past.

Roy is a big body (six-foot-four, 205 pounds), but he’s not overly physical for his stature. He’s not a power forward (Roy was credited with only 71 hits and 47 shot blocks last season), but he tracks up and down the ice on time and uses his length to assist with defending in his zone. 

He’s struggled to stay healthy over a full schedule the past three seasons, having dressed for 65, 70, and 71 games over that span, but he’s contributed some secondary scoring (30, 41, and 31 points) and can match up against top-six opponents. 

What I like most about Roy is the fact he provides consistent compete. His game rarely falls off from an effort perspective. There are times when I’d like to see him play with a fraction more detail defensively, and I definitely want him to improve upon his success rate in the face-off circle (48 per cent last year), but his steady approach overall wins out for me. 

When Roy has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone, he’s very responsible with his decision-making. Almost all of the 107 shots he directed on net this past season came from between the hash marks and deep slot. When he doesn’t have a clear lane to the net, he will chip pucks deep and work plays off the cycle from below the goal line. 

Here’s a look at where his shots on goal came from last season with Vegas:

The Leafs took the Florida Panthers to Game 7 of the second round this spring, but realistically, their roster was starting to wilt compared to the Panthers when the games got even more difficult at the tail end of the series. Adding a player like Roy, who knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup, having done so with Vegas in 2023, makes Toronto a more difficult team to play against overall. And he’s signed for two more seasons at a reasonable $3 million salary, so he’s someone for the team to move forward with.

Roy averages around 15 minutes per game of ice time and can be deployed in all situations. He can play the wing if required. 

Marner is one of the most talented players in the entire NHL. He has his detractors, myself included at times, but there’s no denying he makes plays in the offensive zone and generally contributes responsibly in the defensive zone. 

The time had come for the Leafs and Marner to go their separate ways. Toronto had too much of the same at the top of their lineup, and the core of their group had become too comfortable. Marner was quick to get his guard up when criticized and equally quick to praise the group for what can only be described as a minimal amount of growth and success over the past several years. 

This trade tells me the Golden Knights feel they have enough grit and growl in their lineup already, but lack a truly dynamic point producer beyond Jack Eichel. Marner will add the layer they are looking for and make the team harder to check overall. The Golden Knights now have the flexibility to roll out two high-end offensive play drivers in back-to-back shifts at home and on the road.