Marner has 'nerves and butterflies' ahead of Golden Knights debut

LAS VEGAS -- Mitch Marner stood in the middle of T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, posing for a picture with five of his teammates at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event. The guys had their arms around each other like old buddies. Marner had a huge smile on his face.

“A lot of fun,” he said.

Wait till Wednesday. Marner will be the main event at T-Mobile Arena when he debuts for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Los Angeles Kings in the season opener (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT).

“Now the real thing starts, so definitely exciting,” he said. “The nerves and the butterflies come back, and I’m excited to play in front of that building for the first time as a Golden Knight.”

Marner became the latest attraction on the Las Vegas Strip on July 1, when the Golden Knights acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a sign-and-trade. The 28-year-old forward is locked up for eight seasons at an average annual value of $12 million.

He will start out at right wing on the first line with center Jack Eichel and left wing Ivan Barbashev, and he’s expected to play the point on the first power-play unit. On paper, it looks incredible. But will it click on the ice, and if so, how quickly?

Toronto was Marner’s hometown. The Maple Leafs were the only NHL team he had known since they selected him with the No. 4 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Even if he wanted a change, this is a big one. There is going to be an adjustment period.

“It’s going to be a different year for him, for sure,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I think any time you spend that long in one spot, there is going to be … not some rust, but it’s a whole new environment. That’s obviously going to be a little bit of a challenge.”

Marner had 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 81 games last season, fifth in the NHL. Eichel had 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 77 games, eighth in the League. Marner ranked third in the League in assists; Eichel was sixth.

These are two of the NHL’s best playmakers. They have elite skill and hockey sense. The idea is that Barbashev will provide a net-front presence, and they’ll read off each other and make plays.

But chemistry can take time to develop. Although Marner spent most of the preseason with Eichel, it’s still a work in progress.

“We’re finding where each other likes to be throughout all three zones,” Marner said. “I think we’re slowly getting better at just finding each other in good spots. I think it’s only going to grow throughout the start of the season and going forward, so we’ve just got to stay patient with it and know that if we do the right things we’ll get rewarded for it.”

Eichel said they must trust their instincts, trust each other and communicate.

“He’s such a great player that there’s a lot of things to like,” Eichel said. “He’s able to create a lot of space. He holds on to the puck. His hands and his vision are obviously incredible. I saw a stat today. He was, like, fourth or fifth last year in passes completed to the slot.”

Someone is going to have to shoot the puck. Marner and Eichel can’t defer too much to each other. Cassidy is preaching a shooting mentality after Vegas struggled to score in the preseason.

“One of us, we’re going to have to get selfish,” Eichel said. “I think Bruce has been talking about getting our team to play a direct game, and we have to, collectively, as a group.

“I think sometimes when you’re in a situation where you have two creative guys, Mitch and I, who like to make a lot of plays and sometimes maybe make that extra pass, you’re going to have to … be selfish at times and just play a simple game for us to have success. There’s going to be times where we can let some of that creativity and skill take over. So, I think it's just trying to find that fine line between the two of them.”

Cassidy said he hasn’t overanalyzed the chemistry between Marner and Eichel. Until now, it was just preseason.

“We’ll see,” he said. “It’s that simple. They’re going to have to play together, play League games, meaningful games against good teams, and then there will be a certain time where we say it’s working or it isn’t. Then we might switch it just to see if it looks better another way.”

The same probably goes for the power play. But these are good problems to have, and the potential is … Well, this is a team that is shooting for the Stanley Cup. Listen to Theodore, who is used to playing the top on the power play and might have to make room for Marner.

“I’m not really sure where I’ll be playing yet, but I’m honestly just excited for the year, excited to see what can happen,” Theodore said. “Watching him and ‘Eichs’ play together, that doesn’t happen too often, having two guys like that, special playmakers. It’s going to be a fun year.”