The Toronto Maple Leafs will have an interesting offseason ahead.
The Maple Leafs have Mitch Marner and John Tavares as pending free agents. Marner will be the top free agent available and should have plenty of teams interested in him. However, NHL analyst John Buccigross believes the Maple Leafs need to bring him back.
Although re-signing him would be tough to do cap-wise, especially with Toronto having to re-sign Matthew Knies, who’s an RFA, Buccigross believes the Maple Leafs should trade William Nylander to afford Marner.
“Marner is the fascinating thing. I don’t see how you let him go. Whether you have to trade Nylander, I just don’t see how you let that guy go,” Buccigross said during the Spittin’ Chiclets Avalanche vs Stars Game 7 live stream.
Trading Nylander would be a bold move, given he’s in the first year of an eight-year, $92 million deal. He is also a fan-favorite, but Buccigross believes the Maple Leafs can’t let Marner go, and he’d rather have Marner than Nylander.
Nylander also has a full no-movement clause, so he could decline any trade. However, Buccigross believes Marner does a lot for the Maple Leafs and is someone a team would build around.
“He’s not a goalscorer, and you are right, $14 million for a really good PK guy and a lot of assists. Man, he’s smart, man he’s so God damn smart,” Buccigross added.
Marner led the Maple Leafs in points this past season, recording 27 goals and 75 assists for 102 points. He’s in the final year of his six-year, $65.41 million deal.
Maple Leafs GM Hopeful to Re-Sign Marner
Marner will be the top free agent available on July 1, and the Maple Leafs are interested in bringing him back.
Although Marner’s name came up in trade talks at the deadline, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said after the deadline that he wants to keep Marner long-term.
“We’re aligned with Mitch, we’re worried about this season. We’re worried about the games we have coming up. We want Mitch here for a long time,” Treliving said on March 7. “It’s not a distraction, but like I said we think the world of him. But, it’s just not a question we’re going to get into every day.”
Marner has spent his entire NHL career with the Maple Leafs. He was selected fourth overall in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Marner Isn’t Discussing Contract
Despite Marner being in the final year of his deal, he has been adamant his focus isn’t on the contract.
Marner made it clear throughout the season and after the deadline that he wasn’t going to talk about his contract.
“Like I talked to you guys, man, I’m not gonna get into any of this contract stuff,” Marner said on March 8. “I’ve been very grateful, and I’ve loved my time being a Leaf. So, I’ll leave it with you guys. And we got 20 games left here that aren’t going to be easy. We got to make sure we just keep our foot down on the gas here and give ourselves the best position to go into playoffs.”
Marner will likely get up to $14 million per season in free agency. The star forward is a three-time NHL All-Star.
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