With the NHL Draft two weeks away, speculation will only grow louder. But in the meantime, the Leafs have not made up their mind about how anything will go with their star player.
With the NHL Draft two weeks away, speculation will only grow louder. But in the meantime, the Leafs have not made up their mind about how anything will go with their star player.
Will Mitch Marner be traded this offseason? That's the multi-million dollar question for the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer. But as of this writing, it appears as though the club hasn't made up their mind one way or another.
According to TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston, the club hasn't made up their mind one way or another on their star player despite all of the discourse surrounding the talented forward.
“The Leafs are not leaning on Mitch Marner right now. They have not decided 100 percent they have to trade him and or that they're going to make life uncomfortable and they're getting the list of names. None of that's what's going on," Johnston said on his podcast on Friday.
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Johnston went on to add that Marner controls the hammer here, which he does on account of having a full no-move clause in his contract. Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving agreed with that sentiment as well when speaking to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun at the NHL Combine last week.
Any deal that gets consummated would likely go under the radar and then have to be taken to Marner for the O-K. In the meantime, it's clear that those close to the situation haven't been pleased about the talk surrounding Marner's future with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman indicating that on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast.
“I think there's some frustration just about all the public discourse about it. And look, that's the nature of the beast when you're that player. And when the possibilities are on the table that we're talking about," Johnston said. "But at this point in time, I don't think the Leafs have a deal for them. And I don't think they've gone to them and asked them for a list or anything like that. I think they have to, it does not make any sense for the Leafs to go to war with this player, to make this any more public than it already is.”
Marner has one more year on his contract that carries an annual salary cap hit of $10.903 million. With 639 points in 576 regular season games, it's not unreasonable for the player to expect a raise from that number, whether it happens in Toronto or elsewhere. He is an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025. He is eligible to sign an extension with Toronto as soon as July 1, 2024. However, the belief is Marner's preference is to play out the remainder of his contract in Toronto.
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