The Golden Knights' trade for Mitch Marner is becoming harder to justify given their current situation

When Vegas made a stunning deal to acquire Mitch Marner the day before free agency opened up, it created a huge hole for the Toronto Maple Leafs when it came to their playmaking, as they had just lost their captain's right-hand man coming off a 102-point season.

It was meant to add even more firepower to an already stacked Vegas team and was expected to help them not only rise to the top of the Pacific Division, but lead them to a Stanley Cup.

However in doing so, the team needed to trade away someone else and it was Nicolas Roy who was sent the other way to the Maple Leafs. He was looked at as a very good 3C who could fit well with Craig Berube's style of coaching.

He's been quite successful for the Maple Leafs at both ends of the ice, and his emergence has shone a spotlight on the Golden Knights' lack of depth up the middle:

Right now, Vegas is relying on Marner is play 2C and while he isn't a bad option as a spot-pivot, he's certainly not an elite center and needs a lot more reps to get himself acclimated.

But the team gets pretty thin after that. They have Tomas Hertl but he works well as a winger piece to Jack Eichel, meanwhile after that it's Colton Sissons or Brett Howden.

While both are solid bottom-six NHLers, they aren't the two-way presence that Roy would have brought, and the Vegas defense has shown. Hertl, Sissons and Howden are a combined minus-16 and only have 25 assists combined.

Meanwhile Roy has 13 points over his last 20 games (3 goals, 10 assists) while also holding it down defensively with a plus-10, 25 hits, and winning 55.9% of his face-offs.

And the fact he's the fifth highest scorer is a testament to how underrated he is as a playmaker.

His ability to win board battles and control the puck lets him find speedier players like Nick Robertson; who has been quite the surprise alongside Roy.

While Vegas has to be pleased with Marner's production so far, it could be that perhaps Nicolas Roy was more important than they gave him credit for, and the Maple Leafs are reaping those benefits right now.

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