DETROIT — Year after year after year. It is unreal how the Vegas Golden Knights keep doing it.

They target a big-name player, and well, for the most part they get him.

And the thing that’s important to stress, too, is how calculated it is. This isn’t about swinging wildly at every single big name on the market. The Golden Knights have been very precise in which guys they’ve put a bullseye on and how they’ve gone about getting them. This is their M.O.

And they did it again with Mitch Marner.

“Just really an elite, elite player,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon told The Athletic this week at the GMs and coaches meeting when asked about getting Marner. “There’s a perception that we go after every player. We don’t. We are pretty specific about the players we have had interest in. Mark Stone. Alex Pietrangelo. Jack Eichel. Noah Hanifin. Tomas Hertl. Those were big moves by our team. They were the right guys — big parts of our organization. And we think Mitch Marner is in that league and in that category of player. That’s why, when he was going to market, that’s why we were really interested in the player.’’

There are parallels to draw between Stone and Marner. Both were major cogs for a Canadian franchise and are now able to just do their thing. Stone became available after contract talks went south with the Ottawa Senators. Marner decided it was time to leave his hometown.

In each case, Vegas benefits.

Already in Marner’s recent comments, you can hear a player who sounds relieved to have gotten a fresh start and leave the white noise behind him. Is there a burden lifted there?

“I don’t know that,” McCrimmon said. “All I’m concerned about is he’s a Vegas Golden Knight now. That’s my focus, that’s his focus.

“We’re looking forward to seeing him at training camp. We’re excited to add him to our organization. He’s a really high-end offensive player that’s had a great career in the league. He’s a two-way player, generates offense, sound defensively. He’s going to complement what we have in Vegas and make us a better team.”

As for Eichel, another player who relished a fresh start in Vegas after being dealt from the Buffalo Sabres in 2021, he’s entering the final year of his deal. There’s obvious mutual interest in continuing that marriage.

“That’s a priority,” McCrimmon said. “It remains a priority. He’s been a great player for our organization. I think our organization has been great for him. So, lots of interest, obviously, I think from both sides to make something work.”

The loss of Pietrangelo long-term can’t be underestimated. And while Vegas is believed to have tried hard to trade for the Calgary Flames’ Rasmus Andersson in late June, McCrimmon said they’re very content with how their blue line shapes up at the moment.

“Our roster, I think, is pretty much set,” McCrimmon said. “We’ll see what it looks like when we start. I’m comfortable starting with where we are. On our blue line, we look for Kaedan Korczak (2019 second-round pick) to become an everyday player. I think Ben Hutton has a lot more to give than people realize. We think he’s a good player. And we’ve got some really good players above those guys.”

Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin, Brayden McNabb, Zach Whitecloud and Jeremy Lauzon round out what remains a solid group on the back end.

I would imagine the Golden Knights will see if they feel the need for an upgrade there once the season has begun. But again, McCrimmon seems satisfied for now.

The top priority at the moment, as he said, is to get Eichel extended. My understanding is that there have been a few conversations to date on it. It’s still early stages. It doesn’t sound like anything is imminent, but there’s a lot of time to get it done, and I would be very surprised if it didn’t.

(Photo of Mitch Marner and Kelly McCrimmon: Chase Stevens / Getty Images)