Marner continuing to show just how 'special' he is with Cup Final performance

LAS VEGAS -- Mitch Marner’s record-breaking performance in a 5-4 double-overtime win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, not to mention his performance throughout the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, has stoked the fire even further throughout the hockey world about a Stanley Cup championship, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and even a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.

“Tremendous individual performance,” Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon told NHL.com on Sunday. “Impacts every part of the game for our team.

“A special night for him.”

The Golden Knights lead the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC) thanks in part to Marner’s historic second period in Game 3.

And it was McCrimmon, the architect of the sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who brought Marner to Vegas on July 1, 2025. The goal, McCrimmon said, was to acquire a difference-maker for the Golden Knights, and the veteran forward has proven to be exactly that.

Marner erupted for three goals in the span of 6:10 in the second period in Game 3, eclipsing the previous mark of 6:21 set by the legendary Maurice "Rocket" Richard of the Montreal Canadiens 69 years earlier. His assist on Tomas Hertl’s opening goal of the game made him the first NHL player with four points (three goals, one assist) in a period in the Final.

In the process, McCrimmon wasn’t the only one of his GMs, past or present, who was impressed. So, too, was Mark Hunter, who spent time as Marner’s GM with London of the Ontario Hockey League, where the Markham, Ontario, native played from 2013-2016.

“The first thing that goes through your mind when you see that performance: He’s a Hockey Hall of Famer,” Hunter said in a phone interview from London. “There’s no question.

“People question that type of stuff about him? Really? That’s how good he is, guys. He’ll be a first ballot.”

Hunter would know about Hall of Famers, given how many he’s been around on and off the ice.

During his playing career from 1981-1992, he played with future Hall of Famers Joe Nieuwendyk, Lanny McDonald and Al MacInnis with the Calgary Flames. As an executive, he watched Patrick Kane, the NHL's all-time leading scorer among United States-born players with 1,400 points (508 goals, 892 assists), put up 145 points (62 goals, 83 assists) with London in 2006-07.

Hunter’s belief in Marner is evident by the fact that he helped two different teams draft him.

The first one came in 2013, when the Knights selected Marner with the No. 19 pick in the OHL Draft. Two years later, Hunter was the director of player personnel for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his first year in that role, he oversaw the 2015 NHL Draft, when Marner was selected with the No. 4 pick.

“Just watch him,” Hunter said. “He’s only getting better. He’s getting more confidence. I think he wants to show people how good he is.

“He’s a driven guy. It annoys me when people said he wasn’t focused because he was trying to do fun things on the ice. They were trying to punch holes in him, but he’s a very committed guy. You’re seeing that now.”

Hunter was referring to the criticism Marner received during his nine seasons in Toronto. To be fair, he did deserve his share, considering the Maple Leafs won only two playoff series in that span, but according to Hunter, Marner received disproportionate heat compared to some of Toronto’s other stars.

“He’s brought his game to another level now,” Hunter said. “He’s actually added some physicality to his game. He digs pucks out on the forecheck. He could always turn on a dime, but it’s great to see he’s added that to his resume.

“People used to rip on him because they viewed the calmness he plays with as not caring. But that calmness is part of what makes him great. The great players have it.

“He’s always had the potential to be a difference-maker. Even in minor hockey he’s always wanted the puck in key moments. He had 44 points in 18 playoff games for London in 2016. He’s had struggles in past NHL playoffs, but he wasn’t the only one. And he’s always pushed the envelope. It’s taken a while, but he’s learned. The good outweighs the bad.

“Special player.”

Marner leads all players this postseason with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 19 games, eight ahead of teammate Jack Eichel and 11 ahead of linemate Brett Howden and Carolina forward Taylor Hall.

That should make him the front-runner at this point for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason.

Mark Messier, a six-time Stanley Cup champion, won the Conn Smythe in 1984 with the Edmonton Oilers. He was at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday as part of ESPN’s coverage of the Final and was captivated by Marner’s play.

“Special player,” Messier told NHL.com, echoing Hunter’s sentiments. “You can’t teach what he has. His instincts, his skill set. Teams through their whole existence are looking for players like that. What I’m seeing right now, whether it be Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux or anyone else, players like that, that’s what teams are looking for.

“Here’s the thing, too. He said after the game he couldn't be doing this without his teammates. That’s what’s happening with he and the Knights right now. They have a big strong team and can put him in positions to do something special. And he’s having an amazing playoffs because of it.

“You can see his hockey IQ, but you can also see how incredibly strong he’s become on the puck. He’s not a big guy, but it’s something he’s worked on. He knows how to leverage his weight and get under people.”

Messier said the quality and depth the Golden Knights have is one of the differences for Marner compared to the Maple Leafs.

“But it’s also a learning process in the playoffs,” he said. “And it takes time to do that, to learn how to deal with the situations where the sole purpose of the other team is to take you down. If you think you’re going to come to the playoffs and do what you did during the regular season and stay on the perimeter and set people up and not get to the inside, well, it’s not going to happen.

“You’ve got to learn all that. You’ve got to fail. You’ve got to feel the heat. You’ve got to get the criticism. And it’s got to hurt. You’ve got to feel the sting. He did (in Toronto), and he’s learned from it. And it’s made him a better player. You’re seeing that now. He’s producing special moments.”

He’s been doing that for the past 16 months, dating back to his time while representing Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February 2025.

He opened that tournament by scoring the overtime winner in a 4-3 win against Sweden, then closed it out by setting up Connor McDavid for the championship-winning goal in a 3-2 overtime win against the United States.

Then, at the Winter Olympics in Milan this past February, he scored the overtime winner for Canada in a dramatic 4-3 victory against Czechia in the quarterfinals.

“I’m not surprised what he’s doing right now based on what I saw on the world stage,” New York Islanders coach Peter DeBoer, who was an assistant with Canada at both the 4 Nations Face-Off and Milan Olympics, said on Sunday afternoon. “When you put him with the best of the best, he was still rising to those occasions. Every time in those tournaments when we were looking for someone to get the job done, there he was.

“The beauty of Mitch Marner is he checks so many boxes. He produces offense, he kills penalties. He can be out there in the last minute with a lead because he can block shots, he can be out there in the last minute when you’re trailing because he can help you score. He can play center, he can play wing. The versatility makes him such a special player.”

For Oilers forward Zach Hyman, who was Marner’s teammate with the Maple Leafs from 2016-2021, it’s just Mitch being Mitch.

“He’s a pretty good player,” Hyman said during a phone interview on Sunday. “I don’t know that he’s necessarily better this year than any other year. He’s just Mitch. He’s a phenomenal player.

“The longer you go in the playoffs, the more chances you have to be comfortable and just play. If you’re only in the first round, it’s a short window to do anything. He’s obviously excelled in Vegas. He’s setting records because his team has gone deep and he’s playing the way he usually does.

“Cerebral. Amazing hockey sense. Great teammate, great person, great player. Elite passer. He makes the game easy when you play with him.

“Special player.”