It appears the Mitch Marner saga with the Toronto Maple Leafs could be coming to a close. FanDuel Sports Network's Andy Stickland reported Friday [https://x.com/andystrickland/status/1933596612183392744] that the 28-year-old was not returning to Toronto once he hits the open market on July 1. That caught a lot of attention because it's Marner, and at this time of year, everything surrounding him is news. Following Game 5 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman [https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1934234709703397618] discussed Strickland's report on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast [https://www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/32-thoughts/], where the insider added to what Strickland reported. "The Maple Leafs have tried to talk to Marner. Marner's camp has not engaged with them. And I think everyone knows the way this is going to be headed, that on July 1st, he's going to go out there, he's going to hit the market, he's going to pick a team, he's going to set a contract, and he's not coming back to Toronto. "But, it's Marner, so everything around him is news. I don't think Andy is wrong in any way, shape, or form. But I do think people were surprised in the sense that this is what I thought everybody knew." Report: Mitch Marner Was In Three-Team Trade Talks With Leafs, Hurricanes And Golden Knights Ahead Of Deadline [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/5c2deca2-9253-48b8-879a-00ef92895ade.webp] Report: Mitch Marner Was In Three-Team Trade Talks With Leafs, Hurricanes And Golden Knights Ahead Of Deadline Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/it-s-meant-everything-mitch-marner-reflects-on-maple-leafs-tenure-as-uncertainty-change-loom-following-another-game-7-loss">appears likely to hit the open market</a> on July 1, but there was a chance earlier this season that he could've been a Vegas Golden Knight. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/report-mitch-marner-was-in-three-team-trade-talks-with-leafs-hurricanes-and-golden-knights-ahead-of-deadline] Another wrinkle to this report is that Marner, who's believed to be making a lot of money on July 1, might opt to sign a shorter-term deal rather than a monster seven-year contract. "There was a rumor going around this week that a few teams heard that Marner may not be looking to sign a seven-year deal in free agency," Friedman said. "That he might look at a four-year deal, and then go for another one. Kind of the way that (Auston) Matthews has done it throughout his career." After his first five-year, $58.2 million contract with the Maple Leafs, Matthews signed a four-year, $53 million deal [https://puckpedia.com/player/auston-matthews], which ends following the 2027-28 season. If Marner were to sign a similar contract, he'd hit the open market again in the summer of 2029. Report: Maple Leafs Among Possibilities For Panthers’ Brad Marchand In Free Agency [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/42181f70-0bc5-4135-b3bc-e44ca21ec6ed.webp] Report: Maple Leafs Among Possibilities For Panthers’ Brad Marchand In Free Agency The Toronto Maple Leafs will reportedly be one of the teams vying for Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand's services if he hits the open market on July 1st. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/report-maple-leafs-among-possibilities-for-panthers-brad-marchand-in-free-agency] The Toronto-born forward scored a career-high 102 points [https://www.nhl.com/mapleleafs/player/mitch-marner-8478483] — 27 goals and 75 assists — in 81 games with the Maple Leafs this season. In 13 playoff games, against the Panthers and Ottawa Senators, Marner tallied two goals and 11 assists. Friedman also reported that the Marner [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-mitch-marner-finishes-in-top-10-of-lady-byng-trophy-voting] deal might not cross the finish line right as free agency opens. "It sounds like there's the possibility, and again, there's still two-and-a-half weeks to go here, so who knows where this is all going to end up, but it sounds like the possibility that exists that this may not be a July 1st thing. That Marner's choice could be to set up Zoom, or if teams want, in-person meetings on July 1st or after, and then maybe he goes and visits one or two places," Friedman said. "I think, and nobody is confirming this, I think the Maple Leafs were offered one of the meetings too, and another team told me it was kind of funny to them because they're like, 'What possibly could be the benefit of a meeting between Marner and the Maple Leafs? They already know everything about each other.'" Do The Maple Leafs Need To Make Alterations To Their Bottom-Six Forwards? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/21851d58-5434-489a-80ce-e8351d8dd2ac.webp] Do The Maple Leafs Need To Make Alterations To Their Bottom-Six Forwards? When the Toronto Maple Leafs' season ended in the second round at <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/you-feel-their-disappointment-maple-leafs-react-to-fans-throwing-jerseys-and-debris-on-the-ice-after-game-7-elimination">the hands of the Florida Panthers</a>, talk immediately switched to the big forwards, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, approaching free agency. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/do-the-maple-leafs-need-to-make-alterations-to-their-bottom-six-forwards] Marner has been a Maple Leaf his entire career. The Markham, Ontario, native was drafted fourth overall by Toronto in 2015 and has since climbed high in the organization's historic record books. He's fifth all-time on the franchise's points list [https://records.nhl.com/tor/records/skater-records/points/most-points-career] (741 points in 657 games), fourth in assists (520), and fifth in the team's all-time playoff points [https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/76/toronto-maple-leafs/stats/all-time/playoffs] (63 points in 70 postseason games). "Always loved my time here," Marner said on locker cleanout day [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rvfg4YMBWA&t=415s]. "Like I said to you guys the other night, I've been so grateful. I haven't processed anything yet. It's still so fresh."
