Marner is eligible to sign an extension with the Maple Leafs on July 1, but there are conflicting reports about his future with Toronto.
The uncertainty surrounding Mitch Marner’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs persists.
TSN’s Darren Dreger mentioned on TSN 1050’s First Up that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving would prefer to sign Marner to an extension rather than trade him in a blockbuster deal. Dreger stated, “If Treliving engages in discussions with other clubs and a trade scenario emerges, he could present it to Marner’s camp. If Marner’s camp agrees, noting a significant extension is part of the deal, they might be open to it.”
Dreger continued, “From my conversations, Marner’s preference is to fulfill his contract with the Maple Leafs. This doesn’t imply he will leave after next year, despite the risk of becoming an unrestricted free agent. Although not ideal for the Maple Leafs, Marner negotiated in good faith, including his no-move clause. I believe Treliving prefers extending Marner over trading him, though such discussions are premature.”
The 27-year-old forward is eligible for an extension on July 1. However, conflicting reports suggest uncertainty about Marner’s and the Maple Leafs’ future this offseason.
NHL insider Chris Johnston clarified on The Chris Johnston Show that no definitive decision has been made about trading Marner, nor are they creating a list of potential trade partners.
Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff speculated last week that Toronto might pressure Marner’s camp in the coming weeks, signaling their intent to move on from him eventually.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman even mentioned a “Mitch Marner moratorium” due to the difficulty of publicly discussing the topic amidst the rampant speculation.
Treliving was asked about the Marner situation by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun in early June and said that although they will look at every avenue, the goal is to make the Maple Leafs a better hockey team.
“We’re not going to do play-by-play on it. We’ve got to look at every possible way for our team to be better,” Treliving said.
“Mitch controls a lot of this whole thing. If there’s a way to make our team better, we’re going to do it. But we’re certainly not going to make a trade just so we can pound our chest and say, ‘Look, we’re different.'”
Marner signed a six-year contract with Toronto under former GM Kyle Dubas — which carries an annual average value of $10.903 million — on Sep. 13, 2019, while the team was in St. John’s, Newfoundland, for treating camp.
The forward had a down year production-wise, scoring 85 points (26 goals, 59 assists) in 69 games. He suffered a high-ankle sprain on Mar. 4 against the Boston Bruins, which forced him to miss nearly a month.
Marner appeared in seven regular season games after returning to the lineup, scoring one goal and eight assists in nine games before only registering one goal and two assists in seven games during the first round of the playoffs against Boston.
