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

See Full Page