Grass is green. Ice is cold. The Maple Leafs broke our hearts. What next for Mitch Marner? David Alter gives us his thoughts.
When Mitch Marner left the ice following the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of their second-round series, it certainly felt like the end of an era. Even as he has answered questions about his future, he seemingly spoke about his time in the past tense.
“Always loved my time here. I loved being here,” he said. “I’ve been so grateful. I haven’t processed anything yet. It’s still so fresh. It’s just so fresh.”
This palpable sense of an ending for Mitch Marner’s tenure in Toronto could be precisely what the player, and perhaps the team, badly needs. However, it may go down as one of the worst pieces of roster management to have ever taken place.
Marner’s contract expires on June 30. His expiring deal, a six-year agreement that paid him an average of $10.903 million per season, granted the player a full no-movement clause in his final two seasons. The time to move on from Marner would have been before that clause kicked in on July 1, 2023. One could certainly point the finger at management, who gave him full protection instead of something more flexible like a no-trade clause.
If Marner does walk away, the best thing he could do for the organization is make it clear as soon as possible. That way, the Leafs could work out some sort of trade for the player’s rights. The Carolina Hurricanes did this when they traded the rights to forward Jake Guentzel in exchange for a third-round draft pick. As it stands right now, it’s the highest return ever seen for a player’s contract that expires within days.
All the Maple Leafs will yield by letting Marner walk is salary cap space. The free agent class is lacking stars, but it does have some useful pieces if the price is right. Can you imagine losing Marner but loading up on Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad? It could be a good short-term fix.
Replacing Marner’s multi-faceted contributions would necessitate a ‘by committee’ approach, which is made even more challenging by the thinning of Toronto’s prospect pool. The Leafs traded young forward Fraser Minten along with a first-round pick to the Boston Bruins for Brandon Carlo. Another first-round draft pick, along with popular Russian prospect Nikita Grebenkin, was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers for Scott Laughton.
Shifting the focus back to Marner, is there any scenario in which the player remains with the team?
The Leafs were certainly interested, with reports that Toronto was willing to go as high as eight years at $13.5 million per season. That apparently wasn’t enough for the player. There was also the move Toronto tried, attempting to acquire Mikko Rantanen by asking Marner to waive his no-move clause, only to see him turn it down.
Is there a world in which this is all a negotiating tactic? Marner’s agent, Darren Ferris, has been known to take his clients all the way to July 1 in order to get the maximum amount of money. There is probably a world in which Marner may want to stay and something gets done at the 11th hour. It’s going to come down to Marner and the player deciding if he wants to leave his hometown market.
Ultimately, the decision lies with Marner. Either way, there’s going to be some sort of change for Toronto; it just depends on how deep that goes. With 221 goals and 520 assists in 657 NHL games, Marner should go down as one of the best homegrown Leafs of all time. But unfortunately, it may end without any team hardware.