SIMMONS: Wanna bet that Vegas is the landing spot for Mitch Marner?

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Mitch Marner has been blessed to play most his entire career with either Auston Matthews or John Tavares as his centre.

In fact, over the past two seasons alone, Marner — the setup specialist — has 53 assists on goals scored by Matthews and 21 on goals scored by Tavares.

That’s 74 of his 187 points coming because he was able to combine his playmaking magic with centres and goal scorers of significant NHL consequence.

Which is something Marner has to be taking into account as free agency approaches in three weeks time and there is every likelihood that he won’t be playing for the Maple Leafs any longer.

Where do you find a centre of quality to play with through free agency? Not just where, but how?

What’s the team? What’s the city? What’s the payroll? What’s the salary? There is so much to consider in the short term and for the long term for a player who will be signing up for t least seven seasons with his new contract.

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What matters most to Marner? Who knows? He never answers anything directly. What motivates him: Is it winning?

Some fiction writers have attached Marner’s name to the great Florida Panthers, which would be nice fit for him, except for the fact the Panthers are hoping to bring Sam Bennett back and probably now hoping to sign veteran winger Brad Marchand.

That’s a lot of spending for the Panthers, who also have veteran defenceman Aaron Ekblad unsigned for next season and unlikely to return.

Interestingly enough, both Bennett and Marner, the two big prizes of this free-agent class, are represented by the same agent, Darren Ferris, who likes to push his clients to July 1 rather than get deals done earlier and conveniently.

The most logical destination for Marner is Vegas, where the Golden Knights have been watching him with interest rather closely for years. The Knights have a history of going big at acquisition time.

Over the years, they’ve picked up Alex Pietrangelo, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone in bold signings or trades that other teams have not been as willing to take part in. Eichel is probably the best possible centre match for Marner. He’s not a Matthews-type shooter — who is? — but he’s an offensive player of similar skill.

Marner just had his best season with 102 points while Eichel had his best season with 94. That match has a certain symmetry to it.

Vegas lacked offence in their playoff loss to Edmonton, lack creativity, being shut out in the final two games of the series. In total, they scored just 10 goals in five games against the Oilers.

At first glance, the Golden Knights don’t appear to have the cap space available to work in Marner’s favour. But this is where George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon, the club president and general manager, enter the process, already having earned a reputation for making the financially impossible possible. They have a history of doing what other teams can’t do or won’t do.

The future of star defenceman Pietrangelo already is in question regarding the Golden Knights future. There are those in front offices around the NHL who wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Pietrangelo has played his last NHL game — and that the long-term injury relief from the final two years of his $8.8 million per year contract would put the Knights in position to be able to afford Marner.

Pietrangelo, who was named to Canada’s 4-Nations Face-Off team and is expected to be part of the coming Olympic team, pulled out of the tournament last February to get himself ready for playoffs. He has missed 29 games over the past two seasons to injury and was thought to be playing hurt in the playoffs. He turns 36 next season.

What can the Leafs get for Marner in a sign-and-trade of sorts? Next to nothing, I am told.

They might be able to get a third- or fourth-round draft pick by dealing his rights before July 1, but the question remains: Is it worth doing a possible sign-and-trade for Marner’s benefit, doing him a favour, giving him an extra year on his contract if negotiated that way, when there is next to no benefit for the Leafs themselves?

This is part of the equation that remains hard to figure and the relationships between the Marner camp and the Leafs has been rather prickly at times. Marner negotiated a no-movement clause with the Leafs with the previous general manager, was later seemingly unhappy about how he was being treated in the market and how he was being singled out for Maple Leafs blame.

And yet, when the Leafs provided him with the opportunity to leave and play elsewhere, on a contender in Carolina, he said no, he wouldn’t consider it. This was Marner playing both sides against the middle, which has worked in his favour, but not necessarily for the Leafs.

If he hits free agency, there is little doubt that young hopeful teams such as San Jose, Columbus, Chicago and Anaheim — all with money to spend — will be bidding on Marner. And others — maybe Utah, maybe Detroit, maybe Pittsburgh — will be in the process as well. And probably a semi-contender like Los Angeles might get involved, as would Tampa Bay, where coach Jon Cooper is a huge Marner fan.

And this is where you will learn something about Marner. Is he motivated to win or bring home the most dollars? Is he motivated to play in the best possible situation or in a place where he can hide and avoid the pressures of an intense hockey market?

The bet here, with three weeks to go, is that Vegas is the team that can pull this off.

ssimmons@postmedia.com

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