For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas indicated last week that getting restricted free agent Mitch Marner signed to a contract extension was his top priority of the offseason, not only because the 21-year-old has led the club in scoring the past two seasons, but because the club must know how to manage the landscape of their roster and salary cap to make other moves going forward. “(Mitch is) a massive, massive part of everything we’re doing here, both in terms of his talent and ability which has shown to be among the best in the league, and in terms of the joy and the leadership that he brings to the club each day.… Dubas said. “Without an answer on Mitch(before July 1), we’re going to be in a staIemate. It is a top priority because we’re not going to jump around and chew up our cap space we are going to need for Mitch by or with fringe signings either. It’s important. We just have to get right on it and get it done.… Based on how Dubas forthrightly laid out his plans for negotiations with Marner, it appears as the Leafs will approach an offer with the same willingness to spend big bucks that they displayed when they signed Auston Matthews earlier this year and not haggling over term and dollars as the Leafs did with William Nylander. The sticking point could be an ask from agent Darren Ferris equal to Matthews $11.634 Million AAV as opposed to the Leafs potentially being open to making Marner the highest paid winger in the league (currently Patrick Kane at $10.5 Million AAV). If negotiations drag on, as Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos hinted they could on HNIC Saturday Headlines last weekend, then the Leafs may have to protect themselves against another team putting them in a bind with an offer sheet by exploring potential trade options for Marner. Leaving Toronto (based on the winger’s comments at locker cleanout last week) is not something that Marner wants and is clearly something that Dubas does not want to facilitate, so the hope is that cooler heads will prevail and the two sides will reach an accord before the NHL Draft in Vancouver in late June. Dubas then will know how much space he has to play with going into the summer and make the moves necessary to accommodate Marner’s cap hit by clearing some salary off the roster. The departure of Jake Gardiner is a foregone conclusion, but if Toronto has three $10+ Million players with a cap of $83 to $85 Million, it will be necessary to move out Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Connor Brown and/or William Nylander to stay cap compliant. *******
No Leafs hockey, but lots of Leafs related hockey stuff to Convo about.
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 29, 2019
New Podcast out now. @TheLeafsConvo @MikeInBuffalo https://t.co/UnDIl7lWTm