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There will likely be no movement between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner until the days preceding the NHL Draft in Las Vegas or the start of free agency on July 1, but the chess match between the club, other NHL teams interested in Marner, and his representatives will be playing out in the media between now and then.
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reported on Sunday that the Leafs have serious interest in trading the All-Star winger with a year remaining on his contract, but will not ask him to waive his no-movement clause until they receive an offer from a team that they deem worthy. This serves as a mechanism to get teams to step up and make offers that are considered substantive and prevents Marner’s camp from getting their dander up.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that if the Leafs approach Marner about waiving his NMC, he will consider his options, but that the club may have an idea where he would consider moving to.
Coming out of last weekend’s Scouting Combine in Buffalo were reports that GM Brad Treliving and agent Darren Ferris talked and the only thing that leaked was that Marner would be content to play out the last year of his contract. That is pretty much boilerplate and a no-win for both sides since the Leafs would not get any return for the 27-year-old and he would only get a seven-year deal in free agency instead of an eight-year max deal, potentially costing him between $10 to $12 million and perhaps more if he gets injured seriously during his walk year.
It is hard to imagine that Marner would choose to remain in Toronto if a) the Leafs communicate that they will not offer him an extension (something they did not say to William Nylander one year ago) and b) with the prospect of him facing a year of scrutiny and ridicule that would make Mats Sundin’s final year look like a garden party.
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The other name beginning to pop up as we get closer to the draft is Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom. The veteran was nearly dealt at the deadline to New Jersey and the Devils are likely still interested, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that along with the Devils, he wonders about the Leafs and Ottawa Senators in connection to the 34-year-old netminder.
Treliving is the GM that signed Markstrom as a free agent away from Vancouver in 2020 and the Leafs are likely looking for a tandem partner for Joseph Woll. The skepticism about a Flames-Toronto deal notwithstanding, Markstrom’s $6 million cap hit with two years remaining could be a bridge too far with the Marner situation currently up in the air. The Leafs spent $3.55 million on Ilya Samsonov last season and with the club needing to sign at least one of either Max Domi or Tyler Bertuzzi and at least two quality defensemen, Markstrom’s salary may be too rich for their blood.
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