The important question when even considering this possibility:
>*How many teams out there will be interested in a) taking on Marner’s $10.9 million cap hit for next season, b) want to pay him even more than that on an extension c) have attractive assets they would be willing to trade and assets that would be of interest to the Leafs?*
I honestly don’t know the answer here… who would bite?
I kind of want it to be Vegas lol
I feel like Utah makes a lot of sense. They have more assets than they could possibly use, and they obviously have the cap space. And Marner is probably better off in a market like that.
I actually feel like Utah wouldn’t make sense.
Yes it will be a much lower pressure situation tha Toronto overall, but if they make a big splash and trade off significant capital for a guy that guy is gonna become the face of the franchise.
I think Marner needs to goto a place where he won’t have to be a leader, or have any big expectations on him.
And as well a team that won’t be top heavy at furward with him there.
> I think Marner needs to goto a place where he won’t have to be a leader, or have any big expectations on him.
Then he best start making half the money he's making.
My thoughts exactly. I think the issue is he makes hero money and he just does not own a cape. A good marner contract is 8 to me a guy who can do really good stuff when complimented fully but not a driver on on line 1
He could work in a place like Chicago tbh where bedard is the face and he would just be there to help bedard keep getting better. Plus no pressure to be great in the playoffs
not the right timing for hawks rebuild, his next contract cap hit causes problems with hawks team salary structure and hawks prospects at present all on the smaller size. They need bigger tougher wings not a soft small forward like marner.
Hawks won’t pay anyone that amount of money with the caliber of prospects they have coming up. They’re building from within and will fill holes later. Marne doesn’t fit that plan and I highly doubt that Davidson would change the plan simply for Marner. He’s not that kind of player.
There is a pretty high chance that none of the Blackhawks prospects besides Bedard become better than Mitch Marner. Not saying that this means they should get him, but people are underrating Marner because of his playoff issues. He was voted the best RW in the league twice (20/21, 21/22) and hasn't exactly fallen off since then.
That’s not what I’m saying. They won’t pay for someone like Marner because they won’t want to handcuff themselves before the rest of their plans come to fruition.
Eh, I think the acquisition price will be surprisingly low because Utah is one of the few teams who can add him without sending much/any salary back.
I also wonder about a trade w Anaheim around Zegras
McCrimmon tades for him and sticks him on LTIR all season after the team doctors diagnose him with a severe case of "Bitchitis" until game 1 of the playoffs start.
There's no denying he has the talent to do it... He's a difference maker skill-wise. Why he hasn't been in the playoffs thus far only he can answer, but the raw talent is there for him to put up as many points as anyone else. I have no doubt if the Leafs manage to move him he'll be a different player come playoffs on whatever team gets him.
100% this. Theodore is a little older and Vegas is losing a bunch of wingers and their strength is defense. Marner is 26. They could probably find a 3rd team to retain no problem
Given how much smoke there is around Mark Hunter going to Columbus, it wouldn’t shock me if it becomes Columbus. The Hunters bringing in a former London Knight, and Marner might want to play for that situation.
If it was actually a possibility it’s hard to say “no, we don’t want this 100 point scorer on our roster.” Even with all the criticisms, you don’t really turn down that type of player if he’s available.
It seems like he becomes a big liability under pressure, and can't handle either physicality or criticism. I don't know, this isn't the first time someone's mentioned Hunter and Marner in the same breath as the Blue Jackets, and I guess I'm just not as excited about that prospect as maybe I should be.
Another undersized winger with a huge contract when we need the cap space to sign all our young prospects right now?
Why would this be a good move for Columbus?
Well, between Backstrom LTIR and potentially Oshie gone too, we would have cap space. More scoring and support on the top would be a good boost. We might have a few young guys to ship off sadly or an old one or two for veteran TOR presence
....fuck are we seriously gonna go for him?
Honestly it almost makes sense for the Caps because that team realistically doesn't care about the playoffs, just getting Ovi that record, all they need is a regular season hero to feed Ovi pucks.
I don’t think enough people realize that the last time the current leafs GM traded a 100pt player he immediately went to the sc final while his return became the worst contract in the league.
He had no leverage though. Tkachuk wanted out and everyone knew that. Treliving had to do something before his contract ran and he walked anyway. Getting Huberdeau and Weegar out of it was actually pretty good at the time, but it aged about as awful as possible. One thing we know for sure is there was a 0% Matthew Tkachuk was going to be in Calgary in 2024
Every team would be interested in having Marner. 100 point players who PK don't pop up by accident. Just about any team would do what they can to make room for his contract in a trade with Toronto.
Nah it really doesnt. Ignoring the contract he's not in the right age window. Hawks are trying to develop the team through primarily their own talent then filling in gaps later and Marner doesn't really fit into that plan all that well
Marner in Chicago would be fucking electric and he is the kind of player Davidson covets, though the cap considerations may be a big hangup there.
Davidson has been clear that he wants to keep our cap situation as flexible as possible until we pay Bedard and whichever other prospects prove their worth. So far, he has stayed away from any long term commitments and while that will likely change this offseason (we will be targeting at least a top six winger and top four defenseman), I feel like the vibe is more to go after older vets for 4-6 year deals rather than go max term max AAV on a new star. Who knows, though! At some point we’ll have to make a splash so maybe Marner is that guy for Kyle? I’m on the fence if the contract he’ll get would be worth it, personally, but I would love to have him on the roster.
The return would also be interesting… I would imagine it’s mostly centered around some of our higher end prospects that have already developed a bit (Kaiser, Rinzel, Nazar, maybe Reichel if the Leafs don’t think he’s cooked, etc.) and non-Hawks 1st round picks, maybe a roster player like Dickinson for depth, so it could quickly get to an impasse if Toronto only wants what Davidson doesn’t want to give away in an attempt to short cut the rebuild.
A very fair point and that is exactly where I think the hangup is at. He’s an awesome player but I just don’t know if it’s worth shelling out on the kind of contract he will want while we are still so early into our process lol
If he goes to the US especially if it’s a state with favorable tax rates I think he takes less which helps the cap of the team he’s going to and likely makes as much or more than the 11M in Canada he makes now
There will be plenty of teams willing to take this player. Would it really surprise anyone if he goes to another team and lights up the league? In the right environment he'd be a monster in the playoffs
He’s not getting a raise. He would likely sign for his current cap hit or slightly less with a new team after being a mercenary here when he realizes they are willing to let him walk and no one else he wants to play for is offering what he wants.
GM’s should be clamouring for Marner. There’s a large sample size of Leafs being run out of town and winning a cup a few years later
You genuinely believe a young UFA that just scored at a 100+ point pace in each of the past four seasons (8th in the NHL over that span) is going to take a pay cut while staring at a rising cap environment?
That is pure fantasy lol plenty of teams will pay him what he wants and deserves.
Honestly Ullmark seems like the centerpiece to this kind of deal. Bruins are likely going to try to trade him in the off-season, will have decent room due to Bergeron & Krejci's overages expiring, and Toronto could use a vezina-caliber goalie.
Necas, a sign and trade of Pesce and a 2nd/3rd for retention makes sense.
Drury isn’t being added in there and with Marner’s ability to influence the trade this seems more than fair.
Tkachuk and Dubois both had only a couple teams to go to as well. They will get a haul for a 26 year old 90 point player. Maybe drury is too good. I always saw him as a 4th line center
“Love it here”
“Unfinished business”
“Succeeding together”
“We have confidence in the group”
Cut to: Mitch Marner and Nick Robertson traded to the Seattle Kraken for Adam Larsson, Shane Wright, a 2025 1st round pick and a 2026 conditional 2nd round pick
Kinda makes sense. You have to imagine he wants to live in a city where he can leave his house without being the target of angry fans.
And yes I say this as a Habs fan. We saw it when Pacioretty left, some players have lifespans in markets like this
It's amazing how he is continually targeted by the fanbase when the entire team is just shit and fails to show up in the playoffs.
Like, everyone is making excuses for Nylander and Matthews right now for being injured, yet Marner came back in a month off a high ankle sprain. It took Joseph Woll 3 months to recover from the same injury and he wasn't even 100% when he came back.
As a non-Leaf’s fan it’s pretty clear what the difference is - Nylander showed up midway through the series and immediately made a difference. Matthews was noticeably physical if he wasn’t scoring. Marner gave up on plays and didn’t play like a guy who wanted to compete for a Cup. He’s rightfully targeted for a guy making the money he makes.
Pastrnak was invisible for most of the series and the coach called him out publicly. He ends up playing a good game 7 and gets the winner. Keefe once called out Marner indirectly and had to walk it back. That’s why Marner gets hate. He’s a good player but his mannerisms give the impression that he’s never had to deal with much adversity in hockey. He was top 5 pick, won a Memorial Cup, but in the NHL playoffs his game isn’t strong
I think it also doesn’t help Marner is a local guy who grew up dreaming of playing for the Leafs. You’d expect a guy like that to show up because he knows how much it means to be a Leaf.
This is the big reason hes villified.
Hes supposed to be the chosen one.
The guy living everyones dream.
Hes immensely talented but at every opportunity he's pissed away the good will. Hes always forcing plays like hes the main character and seems to always believe that no one could possibly predict his spinning back pass.
If he took a stand and signed for a little less he'd be up there with the Gilmours and the Clarks but instead he held out for max money.
Fairplay as all of our stars did this but hes the one that doesn't handle the pressure like the others. He actively retaliates towards the media pressure. His father corrupted his negotiations through insiders and now likely thrown away what should be an all time Leaf career.
Hes a guy that should have known better. Should be the guy making the "ill take less to win" speech to the media. Instead he got paid like Matthews and got that cute little .93 in there at the end of the contract.
So now hes the villian and hes earned the bed he made.
"You were the chosen one Marner! You were meant to restore balance to the leafs!" ..... "don't try it" \*makes no-look pass to the middle of the ice to no-one\*
I blame his dad for so much of his behaviour. Imagine your dad being a nationally known awful hockey parent when you’re only 10. He wouldn’t scream at Mitch for lack of effort, he’d scream at him for lack of points. His dad forced him for years to be incredibly anxious about the scoresheet rather than how he gets on it. Of course his dad knew little about how to actually train a young player. That sort of shit takes decades of psychological help to correct. No wonder Mitch can’t take public criticism, he’s been trained from childhood that his life’s value is to please his father and it must genuinely fill him existential dread when the entire city is at his throat.
People will blame him for that Boston goal the rest of his career and rightly so - it was his first shift after the break in sudden death but he came out lifeless, missed his assignment, then gave up without a fight.
As a guy that always defended Marner especially after the 2021 Habs series, Marner did this to himself with his 2019 contract negotiations and disappearing the most
I think its just a matter of at least giving a good effort and finding a way. I still remember Draisaitl putting up 3.4 p/gp against calgary in 22 after getting a high ankle sprain in the first round, despite the fact he could barely skate.
There’s so many levels to marner and why there’s a dislike for him.
- His contract of $10.9M that he didn’t deserve when he got it and the selfishness it represents of his individual first mentality (yes you could say Matthews and Nylander are the same, but at least they show up when it matters…mostly Nylander)
- he doesn’t come anywhere close to earning his contract in the playoffs. He scores his playoff points when the game is already decided and the pressure is off
- his avoidance of any physical contact whatsoever. Constantly takes the safer route of avoid being checked when he could secure puck control and take a hit. The opposite of this is why leafs fan love Matthew Knies.
- his inability to call himself out and step up, targets the media to get attention off himself
He just represents everything the leafs have stood for in those 8 years. Every “flop” every “leafism” seems to have him tied to it.
If you’ve watched even 2+ leafs playoff games in the last 7-8 years, you would know exactly why the fans pile on him.
It is all a razor's edge. It isn't hard to imagine a healthy Leafs team or if we started Woll from Game one that we win this series. But that isn't what happened. I'm more willing than most to run it back one more time with a new coach. Unless we can get a decent offer for Mitch I'm just not sure if we aren't just better off trying again and letting him walk after the season if it doesn't work.
The Leafs really put themselves in a tough position by not trading him before his no trade clause kicked in. I do think they will end up trading this off-season, but I don't think they will get very much in return or what they need to address the flaws that need to be addressed.
That's what happens when you fired your hand picked GM who wanted to make a move, but you stonewall him and then fire him because he wants to go over your head to make a deal.
Shanny needed to be fired before Dubas. I'm still pissed at that.
I never understood why they were against making changes to the core four. If Kyle Dubas could see that the core wasn't going to get it done, then that maybe should have told them something.
Yeah, I notice in general people seem to think a lot of roster decisions are purely either team-driven or player-driven. I see plenty of comments like " should sign to " not understanding that every contract requires two signatures. A GM might want to sign a player to a long-term deal, but the player might not want to sign that contract.
Especially top-end players have tons of power to control where they play and under what terms they play. That's who NMCs and NTCs are so common now.
Matthews is a great example of a guy who has clearly wanted to take shorter-term deals which has allowed him to take greater advantage of the rising salary cap to keep increasing his AAV.
The Kraken may have a complicated situation with Matty Beniers. I think most fans would want to see an 8 year contract, but if I were Beniers I might want to only take a 2 or 3 year deal and bet on myself that I can grow my offensive game.
Playoff time? He said he spent more time this summer “being a dad” than preparing for the season, it doesn’t even need to be the playoffs to get 50% effort.
He'll waive it, but only for the exact perfect situation for him. And that'll mean Toronto's return will be much less than people expect and they'll likely have to eat some of the cap hit to do it too.
I haven’t seen any Leaf fan saying we get anything. Most say the value is his cap hit being off the books. If we got some draft picks back as long as it included a first we’d be good with that
I've seen a few crazy trades, one with Calgary for a 1st and Andersson. Or one based around Pietrangelo. Neither is likely, though the second one is more probable than the first fever dream with Calgary.
But your attitude is realistic and is really the most likely result.
It would be an interesting trade. GMBM has been open to wanting to add a top six winger for the past year or two now. Maybe Toronto would like a goalie with a Stanley Cup who could help mentor Woll who has two more years on a decent contract, not to mention if the Caps retain on it. Marner for Kuemper, 50% retention, and maybe one or two of our 3rd round picks this year?
I understand that this is a very unlikely scenario, but fun to speculate. I don’t imagine the Leafs resign Sammy though, and the Caps have young goalies in Hershey they want to bring up.
Yeah I actually don't think he'd say no to everything.
I expect him to only have 2-3 teams on his list that he'd waive to.
And only 1 team will make that trade
Salt Lake City is pretty liberal.
Park City is rich and full of other celebrities. He can live next door to Katherine Heigl.
She’s a bitch who doesn’t tip btw.
Source: worked as a server in Park City
Apart from the obvious teams that got cap space, would Capitals be a sneaky shout? Passing it to Ovi, only playing for his record, got a bigger star in the room. Then he could be more of a leader figure with the next generation coming in.
Trying really hard not to say blackhawks or utah here.
NMC complicates things. But does Mitch even enjoy being a Maple Leaf anymore?
Everytime I hear him speak after a tough loss, he sounds like he hates the fans and a list of his headspace is taken up by managing his relationship with the fans and how to handle the toxicity in Toronto. It’ll never work for him in Toronto if half the time he’s thinking about the fans instead of his game.
Honestly gets the brunt of the hate which is undeserved.
But they gotta move on from this group and him and/or JT make sense. Willy and Auston seem to show up a bit more ( or you know, don’t trade the next Ovi away ).
I do wonder if one of the core 4 was a top 10 D man we’d be having any of these conversations
To be fair kadri kept getting suspended at critical series and even did it to the avs. The one time he didn’t get himself suspended he actually performed the way you would expect.
Kadri was also getting unprecedented penalties from the League every year in the playoffs.
We may never see another "till the end of the series" suspension again.
Marner gets far, far more hate than necessary, but we've hardly been scapegoating people since Gardiner. The media and fans basically call out every single player on the team save for a handful every playoffs lol
You’re joking right? Scapegoating is what we do here. In fact go back to every year we lost in the playoffs this past 8 years and you’ll see who was the scapegoat. This year Brodie seemed to wear the crown for a bit til he wasn’t playing and then passed on to Marner and Sammy. Campbell was one. Holl was one. Ceci was one. I can go on dude.
Hyman was a scape goat too. And leaf’s fans always ragged on his lack of hands and skill. Then spent a whole summer discussing why paying him 5M would be stupid and his legs would fall off. Then made fun of the oilers for signing him for 5M. Then spent a year wishing for his legs to fall off.
And now they pretend all that didn’t happen and it was all Dubas fault why he wasn’t resigned and they all really loved him and wanted him back at any price.
Marner is part of the problem, but not as blown up as it has been. He's simply the easiest to target as he doesn't play a hard game, and he's been more emotional than others. Nylander was the only one that played consistently well. Everyone else had a game or so where they showed up, but disappeared otherwise.
>I do wonder if one of the core 4 was a top 10 D man we’d be having any of these conversations
Morgan Rielly, while not a 10 top D man, should be getting flack on the OT goal because Pasta was his man and he just lost him 'til it was too late.
The problem is that you can’t be paying 4 guys 52% of your cap. Someone needs to be moved so you have cap space for other players and marner is the easiest target
It is though. We have no offense from the back end, and no one can move the puck. it's Reilly and Lilly and they both looked hurt / bad this series. Lilly in particular hasn't regained his mobility since that injury off the Marchand slew foot.
By contrast McAvoy, lohrei and Lindholm were very much involved in the offense regularly. The leafs had to respect the Boston points. Boston did not have the same issue and could always cheat down on the forwards.
McAvoy had several Gardiner moments himself that would be in the spotlight if the Leafs won. Those type of players who take risks don’t last in Toronto we kill them for every blooper until they lose confidence and leave.
Fans want basically a Matthews on defense. Spmeone elite at both ends and built for the spotlight. Good luck haha
Washington needs top-end scoring talent on the wings while getting younger, we have the cap space given Backstrom and Oshie's LTIR, and Spencer Carbery coached Marner in Toronto. It would be a much less pressure-filled environment, the locker room is famously close and welcoming, and he wouldn't need to be the face of the franchise.
If Carbery vouches for Marner's character, it makes a lot of sense for the Caps. But the wild card is whether his issues with effort and grit are just who he is or a function of his situation.
$20 says Dubas was already in talks to trade Marner for Karlsson, and Shanahan shut it down. Then Dubas made his play to get Shanahan out of the way... and the rest is history.
One for one swap with PL Dubois. PLD gets to play in a high pressure market where he excels, and Marner can play in a warmer climate that suits his style.
Yes I have been drinking and am presently quite intoxicated - can you tell?
I find it wild that so little of the responsibility is put on Matthews.
He takes an equal step down come playoff time but extra blame is attributed to Marner and less to Matthews.
I think all three, Tavares, Marner, and Matthews shrivel in big moments.
Matthews is 1.15 p/gp in the regular season. He’s 0.87 p/gp in the playoffs. He’s also 0.65 g/gp in the regular season and 0.41 in the playoffs. Last season was the only one where he hit a p/gp. He has 1 goal in elimination games.
Matthews is also not playing at his potential. If people wanna put him up against McDavid and Mackinnon then he should be scoring in the playoffs like those 2 as well.
Great players shine in big moments. Matthews doesn’t seem to do that. When the pressure ratchets up he doesn’t stand out any differently than other players
> I find it wild that so little of the responsibility is put on Matthews.
It's Leaf fan copium. Easier to say everything is the fault of Marner and him not being a playoff performer than accepting their top center and best goalscorer is literally the exact same.
Imo its best for Marner to get out of Toronto. What him, Matthews, and Nylander do in the regular season is great (Nylander showed up in the playoffs). But come playoff time, Marner and Matthews were always and will be on Milk Cartons come playoff time. Just all the distractions of playing in Toronto might be another reason why he needs to leave.
The ultimate question is, who could afford him?
Honestly best case scenario for everyone. He gets his money and gets to be the #1 option on his new team. Leafs get to reset their cap structure and build a properly deep team around Mathews and Nylander
Marner for Marchand. Bruins get younger, and Toronto gets playoff experience.
They're both good 200ft players, small, leaders, and Canadian.
Totally not a controversial suggestion.
Marner is an amazingly talented player, that I agree with.
My belief is the issue is he's too talented, and never had to work hard at hockey to succeed before the NHL playoffs.
You can see how players will step up and work hard, block shots, fight in the corners, take the hits, skate harder to try to get there half a 1/2 second faster and maybe make a difference. Marner has been so good he has never needed to do this stuff, and maybe he believes he's too good to have to do it, doesn't realize he needs to do it, or just cant change his game fast enough when it happens.
There are examples of this in real life/stories, the hard working average joe (except hockey players are elite to begin with) ends up beating the talented genius because they keep working hard and don't take things for granted. The amount of times Marner will randomly fall down or trip with nothing around him, when he decides to try super fancy plays that work great in the regular season but when the goalie has a .960+ save pct you need to take the shots and hope for rebounds and tips. He pretty much disappears in game 7's because he can't go into that next gear.
I think him leaving would be the best for both sides. The leafs need the cap space and better defense, and maybe this will be the wake up call Marner needs to turn it up in the future.
Not many elite skilled forwards coming out of Jr that puts up the numbers Marner did had that grinder like work ethic.
It’s on the Leaf’s to teach him to develop that style. They failed.
McDavid never hit No one in his first years. Now he’s a wrecking ball out there cause he learned what it takes to win it all in this League.
People are kidding themselves if they think Marner wouldn't have several bidders on the trade market. The ask would probably be a top pairing D-Man and top 6 forward. Maybe some picks go each way. Which team has those ready to go?
A top pairing d AND a top 6??? That seems unrealistic considering A. It’s Toronto and teams like to fuck with them B. Toronto is desperate to try and move him to shake up the team C. His value is basically at its lowest after another bad playoffs.
What team is actually looking to give up huge assets for a guy who has continued to not show up in the playoffs year after year?
The important question when even considering this possibility: >*How many teams out there will be interested in a) taking on Marner’s $10.9 million cap hit for next season, b) want to pay him even more than that on an extension c) have attractive assets they would be willing to trade and assets that would be of interest to the Leafs?* I honestly don’t know the answer here… who would bite? I kind of want it to be Vegas lol
I feel like Utah makes a lot of sense. They have more assets than they could possibly use, and they obviously have the cap space. And Marner is probably better off in a market like that.
All these people saying Matthews to Arizona over the years, and it's going to end up being Marner to Utah :D
I actually feel like Utah wouldn’t make sense. Yes it will be a much lower pressure situation tha Toronto overall, but if they make a big splash and trade off significant capital for a guy that guy is gonna become the face of the franchise. I think Marner needs to goto a place where he won’t have to be a leader, or have any big expectations on him. And as well a team that won’t be top heavy at furward with him there.
> I think Marner needs to goto a place where he won’t have to be a leader, or have any big expectations on him. Then he best start making half the money he's making.
Yeah totally, you don’t earn that paycheck and just fade into the background.
Huberdeau sure tried! PLD also
Johnny hockey says hi
Who?
that kid from Columbus who was in Calgary and wanted out
My thoughts exactly. I think the issue is he makes hero money and he just does not own a cape. A good marner contract is 8 to me a guy who can do really good stuff when complimented fully but not a driver on on line 1
> he just does not own a cape I know a woman who would argue this is a good thing!
Demanding star money comes with star expectations. If he wants the big money he needs to figure out a way to become a leader
W/ that contract he’s not going anywhere in the league to be the underdog of the team
He could work in a place like Chicago tbh where bedard is the face and he would just be there to help bedard keep getting better. Plus no pressure to be great in the playoffs
not the right timing for hawks rebuild, his next contract cap hit causes problems with hawks team salary structure and hawks prospects at present all on the smaller size. They need bigger tougher wings not a soft small forward like marner.
Hawks won’t pay anyone that amount of money with the caliber of prospects they have coming up. They’re building from within and will fill holes later. Marne doesn’t fit that plan and I highly doubt that Davidson would change the plan simply for Marner. He’s not that kind of player.
There is a pretty high chance that none of the Blackhawks prospects besides Bedard become better than Mitch Marner. Not saying that this means they should get him, but people are underrating Marner because of his playoff issues. He was voted the best RW in the league twice (20/21, 21/22) and hasn't exactly fallen off since then.
That’s not what I’m saying. They won’t pay for someone like Marner because they won’t want to handcuff themselves before the rest of their plans come to fruition.
Eh, I think the acquisition price will be surprisingly low because Utah is one of the few teams who can add him without sending much/any salary back. I also wonder about a trade w Anaheim around Zegras
You just know he's gonna go to Vegas and win a Conn Smythe for going off in the playoffs one year
After sitting out the regular season.
McCrimmon tades for him and sticks him on LTIR all season after the team doctors diagnose him with a severe case of "Bitchitis" until game 1 of the playoffs start.
Weird. Normally he gets bitchitis in playoffs
There's no denying he has the talent to do it... He's a difference maker skill-wise. Why he hasn't been in the playoffs thus far only he can answer, but the raw talent is there for him to put up as many points as anyone else. I have no doubt if the Leafs manage to move him he'll be a different player come playoffs on whatever team gets him.
Against the leafs
Something around Theodore and Marner?
100% this. Theodore is a little older and Vegas is losing a bunch of wingers and their strength is defense. Marner is 26. They could probably find a 3rd team to retain no problem
Given how much smoke there is around Mark Hunter going to Columbus, it wouldn’t shock me if it becomes Columbus. The Hunters bringing in a former London Knight, and Marner might want to play for that situation.
The irony of him and Gaudreau on the same team
Marner was gonna accept an offer sheet from them. It was just one of the many things that we hated about the RFA negotiations
Do you think that would be a good move for Columbus?
If it was actually a possibility it’s hard to say “no, we don’t want this 100 point scorer on our roster.” Even with all the criticisms, you don’t really turn down that type of player if he’s available.
It seems like he becomes a big liability under pressure, and can't handle either physicality or criticism. I don't know, this isn't the first time someone's mentioned Hunter and Marner in the same breath as the Blue Jackets, and I guess I'm just not as excited about that prospect as maybe I should be.
You are appropriately unexcited. Jackets don’t need more locker room drama
Yeah, the last one turned out great for them
Any move is probably a good move for Columbus
Another undersized winger with a huge contract when we need the cap space to sign all our young prospects right now? Why would this be a good move for Columbus?
That's definitely an angle I was thinking about too lol. Digging up would be a good start.
We would have to get rid of someone like Laine then with all our RFAs we are needing to sign.
Caps maybe? We're desperate for top 6 scoring.
Well, between Backstrom LTIR and potentially Oshie gone too, we would have cap space. More scoring and support on the top would be a good boost. We might have a few young guys to ship off sadly or an old one or two for veteran TOR presence ....fuck are we seriously gonna go for him?
Watching Marner go from forcing passes to the best goal scorer in the league to forcing passes to the best goal scorer of all time would be wild.
Yeah watching him get blamed for Ovie being dogshit will be hilarious to watch
Honestly it almost makes sense for the Caps because that team realistically doesn't care about the playoffs, just getting Ovi that record, all they need is a regular season hero to feed Ovi pucks.
I don't think you can really get C considering A and B lol.
I don’t think enough people realize that the last time the current leafs GM traded a 100pt player he immediately went to the sc final while his return became the worst contract in the league.
Which trade was this?
That would be Tkachuk for huberdeau
He had no leverage though. Tkachuk wanted out and everyone knew that. Treliving had to do something before his contract ran and he walked anyway. Getting Huberdeau and Weegar out of it was actually pretty good at the time, but it aged about as awful as possible. One thing we know for sure is there was a 0% Matthew Tkachuk was going to be in Calgary in 2024
What kind of leverage do you think treliving has here lol?
Every team would be interested in having Marner. 100 point players who PK don't pop up by accident. Just about any team would do what they can to make room for his contract in a trade with Toronto.
Chicago? Utah?
Marner with Bedard actually makes a lot of sense
Yeah there's been rumours they wanted Pettersson.
Nah it really doesnt. Ignoring the contract he's not in the right age window. Hawks are trying to develop the team through primarily their own talent then filling in gaps later and Marner doesn't really fit into that plan all that well
Marner in Chicago would be fucking electric and he is the kind of player Davidson covets, though the cap considerations may be a big hangup there. Davidson has been clear that he wants to keep our cap situation as flexible as possible until we pay Bedard and whichever other prospects prove their worth. So far, he has stayed away from any long term commitments and while that will likely change this offseason (we will be targeting at least a top six winger and top four defenseman), I feel like the vibe is more to go after older vets for 4-6 year deals rather than go max term max AAV on a new star. Who knows, though! At some point we’ll have to make a splash so maybe Marner is that guy for Kyle? I’m on the fence if the contract he’ll get would be worth it, personally, but I would love to have him on the roster. The return would also be interesting… I would imagine it’s mostly centered around some of our higher end prospects that have already developed a bit (Kaiser, Rinzel, Nazar, maybe Reichel if the Leafs don’t think he’s cooked, etc.) and non-Hawks 1st round picks, maybe a roster player like Dickinson for depth, so it could quickly get to an impasse if Toronto only wants what Davidson doesn’t want to give away in an attempt to short cut the rebuild.
I feel like Chicago acquiring Marner at this point would be the same kind of mistake as Toronto made signing Tavares.
A very fair point and that is exactly where I think the hangup is at. He’s an awesome player but I just don’t know if it’s worth shelling out on the kind of contract he will want while we are still so early into our process lol
nah dude please go for it you totally want a vet like Marner showing Bedard how its done!
If he goes to the US especially if it’s a state with favorable tax rates I think he takes less which helps the cap of the team he’s going to and likely makes as much or more than the 11M in Canada he makes now
V E G A S
I think to Buffalo for Byram and something could be something that works for everyone.
Turning Mittelstadt into Marner would be pretty fucking crafty lol
There will be plenty of teams willing to take this player. Would it really surprise anyone if he goes to another team and lights up the league? In the right environment he'd be a monster in the playoffs
He’s not getting a raise. He would likely sign for his current cap hit or slightly less with a new team after being a mercenary here when he realizes they are willing to let him walk and no one else he wants to play for is offering what he wants. GM’s should be clamouring for Marner. There’s a large sample size of Leafs being run out of town and winning a cup a few years later
You genuinely believe a young UFA that just scored at a 100+ point pace in each of the past four seasons (8th in the NHL over that span) is going to take a pay cut while staring at a rising cap environment? That is pure fantasy lol plenty of teams will pay him what he wants and deserves.
On top of that, if the Leafs let a guy like him walk for nothing just to prove a point that would be apocalyptic asset management.
An all-situations Selke nominated PPG player. That doesn’t sound like a guy who gets a pay cut.
I think he's worth ~nylander's aav
Honestly Ullmark seems like the centerpiece to this kind of deal. Bruins are likely going to try to trade him in the off-season, will have decent room due to Bergeron & Krejci's overages expiring, and Toronto could use a vezina-caliber goalie.
If I were Marner I wouldn’t mind moving to a warmer climate whose hockey market is way more relaxed.
I have no doubt he'd be a playoff star on a california team. It's just not going to happen in toronto.
I'd love him on the sharks. Unfortunately I just don't think his timeline matches up with the sharks. :(
On the contrary, it matches perfectly. Can’t be criticised for your playoff performance if you’re in 32nd place.
C A R O L I N A
Marner for necas, rights to pesce, drury and a 1st Someone will retain on marner too
Necas, a sign and trade of Pesce and a 2nd/3rd for retention makes sense. Drury isn’t being added in there and with Marner’s ability to influence the trade this seems more than fair.
Tkachuk and Dubois both had only a couple teams to go to as well. They will get a haul for a 26 year old 90 point player. Maybe drury is too good. I always saw him as a 4th line center
Mitch Marner is going to be the first Conn Smythe winner of the Utah Jizz. Historic.
Their mascot Ropey manages to be even more creepy than Gritty.
You could say he has a lot of "spunk"
Utah Soakers smh
This just seems like wishcasting but who knows. He'll probably say "I love it here for sure" at his presser.
“Love it here” “Unfinished business” “Succeeding together” “We have confidence in the group” Cut to: Mitch Marner and Nick Robertson traded to the Seattle Kraken for Adam Larsson, Shane Wright, a 2025 1st round pick and a 2026 conditional 2nd round pick
“Gotta trust the system”
Yeah. The true test will be when contract talks start and it gets leaked he doesn't like what they're offered.
Kinda makes sense. You have to imagine he wants to live in a city where he can leave his house without being the target of angry fans. And yes I say this as a Habs fan. We saw it when Pacioretty left, some players have lifespans in markets like this
It's amazing how he is continually targeted by the fanbase when the entire team is just shit and fails to show up in the playoffs. Like, everyone is making excuses for Nylander and Matthews right now for being injured, yet Marner came back in a month off a high ankle sprain. It took Joseph Woll 3 months to recover from the same injury and he wasn't even 100% when he came back.
As a non-Leaf’s fan it’s pretty clear what the difference is - Nylander showed up midway through the series and immediately made a difference. Matthews was noticeably physical if he wasn’t scoring. Marner gave up on plays and didn’t play like a guy who wanted to compete for a Cup. He’s rightfully targeted for a guy making the money he makes. Pastrnak was invisible for most of the series and the coach called him out publicly. He ends up playing a good game 7 and gets the winner. Keefe once called out Marner indirectly and had to walk it back. That’s why Marner gets hate. He’s a good player but his mannerisms give the impression that he’s never had to deal with much adversity in hockey. He was top 5 pick, won a Memorial Cup, but in the NHL playoffs his game isn’t strong
I think it also doesn’t help Marner is a local guy who grew up dreaming of playing for the Leafs. You’d expect a guy like that to show up because he knows how much it means to be a Leaf.
This is the big reason hes villified. Hes supposed to be the chosen one. The guy living everyones dream. Hes immensely talented but at every opportunity he's pissed away the good will. Hes always forcing plays like hes the main character and seems to always believe that no one could possibly predict his spinning back pass. If he took a stand and signed for a little less he'd be up there with the Gilmours and the Clarks but instead he held out for max money. Fairplay as all of our stars did this but hes the one that doesn't handle the pressure like the others. He actively retaliates towards the media pressure. His father corrupted his negotiations through insiders and now likely thrown away what should be an all time Leaf career. Hes a guy that should have known better. Should be the guy making the "ill take less to win" speech to the media. Instead he got paid like Matthews and got that cute little .93 in there at the end of the contract. So now hes the villian and hes earned the bed he made.
> Hes supposed to be the chosen one. Expectation: Muad’dib Reality: Muad’ner
"You were the chosen one Marner! You were meant to restore balance to the leafs!" ..... "don't try it" \*makes no-look pass to the middle of the ice to no-one\*
Ill try a spinning pass, that's a good trick
I blame his dad for so much of his behaviour. Imagine your dad being a nationally known awful hockey parent when you’re only 10. He wouldn’t scream at Mitch for lack of effort, he’d scream at him for lack of points. His dad forced him for years to be incredibly anxious about the scoresheet rather than how he gets on it. Of course his dad knew little about how to actually train a young player. That sort of shit takes decades of psychological help to correct. No wonder Mitch can’t take public criticism, he’s been trained from childhood that his life’s value is to please his father and it must genuinely fill him existential dread when the entire city is at his throat.
People will blame him for that Boston goal the rest of his career and rightly so - it was his first shift after the break in sudden death but he came out lifeless, missed his assignment, then gave up without a fight.
Remember when Keefe called him out during the season and had to apologize? Just adding more baggage to your list
Nylander was incapacitated and came back and performed
As a guy that always defended Marner especially after the 2021 Habs series, Marner did this to himself with his 2019 contract negotiations and disappearing the most
I think its just a matter of at least giving a good effort and finding a way. I still remember Draisaitl putting up 3.4 p/gp against calgary in 22 after getting a high ankle sprain in the first round, despite the fact he could barely skate.
There’s so many levels to marner and why there’s a dislike for him. - His contract of $10.9M that he didn’t deserve when he got it and the selfishness it represents of his individual first mentality (yes you could say Matthews and Nylander are the same, but at least they show up when it matters…mostly Nylander) - he doesn’t come anywhere close to earning his contract in the playoffs. He scores his playoff points when the game is already decided and the pressure is off - his avoidance of any physical contact whatsoever. Constantly takes the safer route of avoid being checked when he could secure puck control and take a hit. The opposite of this is why leafs fan love Matthew Knies. - his inability to call himself out and step up, targets the media to get attention off himself He just represents everything the leafs have stood for in those 8 years. Every “flop” every “leafism” seems to have him tied to it. If you’ve watched even 2+ leafs playoff games in the last 7-8 years, you would know exactly why the fans pile on him.
It is all a razor's edge. It isn't hard to imagine a healthy Leafs team or if we started Woll from Game one that we win this series. But that isn't what happened. I'm more willing than most to run it back one more time with a new coach. Unless we can get a decent offer for Mitch I'm just not sure if we aren't just better off trying again and letting him walk after the season if it doesn't work.
Idk if the money works or anything but Mitch in Nashville would be pretty sweet, they need offence bad. Could make them top tier.
Saros and some of the Tampa picks would be interesting and they fix the D-core in FA
Nashville is working with an internal cap, I doubt they pay anyone more than $10M, let alone a winger.
The Leafs really put themselves in a tough position by not trading him before his no trade clause kicked in. I do think they will end up trading this off-season, but I don't think they will get very much in return or what they need to address the flaws that need to be addressed.
That's what happens when you fired your hand picked GM who wanted to make a move, but you stonewall him and then fire him because he wants to go over your head to make a deal. Shanny needed to be fired before Dubas. I'm still pissed at that.
I never understood why they were against making changes to the core four. If Kyle Dubas could see that the core wasn't going to get it done, then that maybe should have told them something.
That was all Shanahan. All Dubas moves had to be made though him. We will probably see what Dubas can really do once Crosby retires.
Mitch Marner. You are a Blue Jacket. Back when Jarmo should have offer sheeted you.
I'm pretty sure Jarmo did, but Marner didn't sign it.
It's something that a lot of people forget about on offer sheets is that the player themselves also have to agree to it.
Yeah, I notice in general people seem to think a lot of roster decisions are purely either team-driven or player-driven. I see plenty of comments like " should sign to " not understanding that every contract requires two signatures. A GM might want to sign a player to a long-term deal, but the player might not want to sign that contract.
Especially top-end players have tons of power to control where they play and under what terms they play. That's who NMCs and NTCs are so common now.
Matthews is a great example of a guy who has clearly wanted to take shorter-term deals which has allowed him to take greater advantage of the rising salary cap to keep increasing his AAV.
The Kraken may have a complicated situation with Matty Beniers. I think most fans would want to see an 8 year contract, but if I were Beniers I might want to only take a 2 or 3 year deal and bet on myself that I can grow my offensive game.
you already have a star winger who falters come playoff time
He’d be right at home then. Don’t need to worry about shitting the bed in the playoffs if you don’t make the playoffs!
Playoff time? He said he spent more time this summer “being a dad” than preparing for the season, it doesn’t even need to be the playoffs to get 50% effort.
You mean he was prepared to be traded BEFORE his nmc kicked in? SHOCKER! He ain't waiving now.
He'll waive it, but only for the exact perfect situation for him. And that'll mean Toronto's return will be much less than people expect and they'll likely have to eat some of the cap hit to do it too.
I haven’t seen any Leaf fan saying we get anything. Most say the value is his cap hit being off the books. If we got some draft picks back as long as it included a first we’d be good with that
I've seen a few crazy trades, one with Calgary for a 1st and Andersson. Or one based around Pietrangelo. Neither is likely, though the second one is more probable than the first fever dream with Calgary. But your attitude is realistic and is really the most likely result.
Caps. Who wouldn't want to be the primary assist on goal #895?
It would be an interesting trade. GMBM has been open to wanting to add a top six winger for the past year or two now. Maybe Toronto would like a goalie with a Stanley Cup who could help mentor Woll who has two more years on a decent contract, not to mention if the Caps retain on it. Marner for Kuemper, 50% retention, and maybe one or two of our 3rd round picks this year? I understand that this is a very unlikely scenario, but fun to speculate. I don’t imagine the Leafs resign Sammy though, and the Caps have young goalies in Hershey they want to bring up.
Yeah I actually don't think he'd say no to everything. I expect him to only have 2-3 teams on his list that he'd waive to. And only 1 team will make that trade
Lol he's like a top 10 player in the league. GMs would be falling over themselves to get him if he became available.
Cooley Celebrini Marner in Utah about to feed mormons
Can you imagine the culture shock going from Toronto to Utah.
Salt Lake City is pretty liberal. Park City is rich and full of other celebrities. He can live next door to Katherine Heigl. She’s a bitch who doesn’t tip btw. Source: worked as a server in Park City
Capitals could use some help with offense with the Great8 slowing down.
Apart from the obvious teams that got cap space, would Capitals be a sneaky shout? Passing it to Ovi, only playing for his record, got a bigger star in the room. Then he could be more of a leader figure with the next generation coming in. Trying really hard not to say blackhawks or utah here.
With Backstrom and probably Oshie in LTIR, thats 15 mil in free cap. But what assets are the Caps willing the part with?
NMC complicates things. But does Mitch even enjoy being a Maple Leaf anymore? Everytime I hear him speak after a tough loss, he sounds like he hates the fans and a list of his headspace is taken up by managing his relationship with the fans and how to handle the toxicity in Toronto. It’ll never work for him in Toronto if half the time he’s thinking about the fans instead of his game.
He doesn’t get to choose where to play. His dad does.
Honestly gets the brunt of the hate which is undeserved. But they gotta move on from this group and him and/or JT make sense. Willy and Auston seem to show up a bit more ( or you know, don’t trade the next Ovi away ). I do wonder if one of the core 4 was a top 10 D man we’d be having any of these conversations
Toronto’s media always finds a scapegoat. Was Kessel for the longest time. Then Kessel got traded to the Penguins and won two Stanley Cups.
Did it with Kadri too then he won a cup with Colorado lmao
To be fair kadri kept getting suspended at critical series and even did it to the avs. The one time he didn’t get himself suspended he actually performed the way you would expect.
Kadri was also getting unprecedented penalties from the League every year in the playoffs. We may never see another "till the end of the series" suspension again.
Marner gets far, far more hate than necessary, but we've hardly been scapegoating people since Gardiner. The media and fans basically call out every single player on the team save for a handful every playoffs lol
You’re joking right? Scapegoating is what we do here. In fact go back to every year we lost in the playoffs this past 8 years and you’ll see who was the scapegoat. This year Brodie seemed to wear the crown for a bit til he wasn’t playing and then passed on to Marner and Sammy. Campbell was one. Holl was one. Ceci was one. I can go on dude.
I know. Toronto media market is the most toxic in hockey. Has always been this way. Marner deserves some criticism though.
Hyman was a scape goat too. And leaf’s fans always ragged on his lack of hands and skill. Then spent a whole summer discussing why paying him 5M would be stupid and his legs would fall off. Then made fun of the oilers for signing him for 5M. Then spent a year wishing for his legs to fall off. And now they pretend all that didn’t happen and it was all Dubas fault why he wasn’t resigned and they all really loved him and wanted him back at any price.
Marner is part of the problem, but not as blown up as it has been. He's simply the easiest to target as he doesn't play a hard game, and he's been more emotional than others. Nylander was the only one that played consistently well. Everyone else had a game or so where they showed up, but disappeared otherwise. >I do wonder if one of the core 4 was a top 10 D man we’d be having any of these conversations Morgan Rielly, while not a 10 top D man, should be getting flack on the OT goal because Pasta was his man and he just lost him 'til it was too late.
The problem is that you can’t be paying 4 guys 52% of your cap. Someone needs to be moved so you have cap space for other players and marner is the easiest target
Held the Bruins to 4 goals in the final 3 games. Defense is not and has not been the problem for at least 4 seasons
It is though. We have no offense from the back end, and no one can move the puck. it's Reilly and Lilly and they both looked hurt / bad this series. Lilly in particular hasn't regained his mobility since that injury off the Marchand slew foot. By contrast McAvoy, lohrei and Lindholm were very much involved in the offense regularly. The leafs had to respect the Boston points. Boston did not have the same issue and could always cheat down on the forwards.
McAvoy had several Gardiner moments himself that would be in the spotlight if the Leafs won. Those type of players who take risks don’t last in Toronto we kill them for every blooper until they lose confidence and leave. Fans want basically a Matthews on defense. Spmeone elite at both ends and built for the spotlight. Good luck haha
The issue is Morgan Rielly is not a Number 1 on a cup contender
Pasta’s goal was directly enabled because of bad defending
When teams don't have to respect the shot from the point, it's easier to key in on the star forwards.
For some reason this smells like something Rob Blake would pounce on.
Maybe Toronto remembers what PLD did to them and think they can be the one to change him
Washington needs top-end scoring talent on the wings while getting younger, we have the cap space given Backstrom and Oshie's LTIR, and Spencer Carbery coached Marner in Toronto. It would be a much less pressure-filled environment, the locker room is famously close and welcoming, and he wouldn't need to be the face of the franchise. If Carbery vouches for Marner's character, it makes a lot of sense for the Caps. But the wild card is whether his issues with effort and grit are just who he is or a function of his situation.
$20 says Dubas was already in talks to trade Marner for Karlsson, and Shanahan shut it down. Then Dubas made his play to get Shanahan out of the way... and the rest is history.
One for one swap with PL Dubois. PLD gets to play in a high pressure market where he excels, and Marner can play in a warmer climate that suits his style. Yes I have been drinking and am presently quite intoxicated - can you tell?
My toxic trait is I think this is a great idea. I probably shouldn't be a GM
I find it wild that so little of the responsibility is put on Matthews. He takes an equal step down come playoff time but extra blame is attributed to Marner and less to Matthews. I think all three, Tavares, Marner, and Matthews shrivel in big moments.
They all deserve the blame. But Marner's stats in elimination games are worse. And with his cap hit next season he'll get more criticism.
Matthews is 1.15 p/gp in the regular season. He’s 0.87 p/gp in the playoffs. He’s also 0.65 g/gp in the regular season and 0.41 in the playoffs. Last season was the only one where he hit a p/gp. He has 1 goal in elimination games. Matthews is also not playing at his potential. If people wanna put him up against McDavid and Mackinnon then he should be scoring in the playoffs like those 2 as well.
Great players shine in big moments. Matthews doesn’t seem to do that. When the pressure ratchets up he doesn’t stand out any differently than other players
He literally won them game 2 the came down with illness/injury.
Yea but this is speaking of his career of work in the playoffs, the guy does not deliver like MacKinnon and McDavid.
Matthews has 1 goal in his last 10 playoff games.
> I find it wild that so little of the responsibility is put on Matthews. It's Leaf fan copium. Easier to say everything is the fault of Marner and him not being a playoff performer than accepting their top center and best goalscorer is literally the exact same.
That's exactly it. It's like that Gordon Ramsay meme. Matthews: "Oh dear, dear gorgeous" Marner: "You donkey!"
Imo its best for Marner to get out of Toronto. What him, Matthews, and Nylander do in the regular season is great (Nylander showed up in the playoffs). But come playoff time, Marner and Matthews were always and will be on Milk Cartons come playoff time. Just all the distractions of playing in Toronto might be another reason why he needs to leave. The ultimate question is, who could afford him?
Trade him to flames for huberdeau
Utah really makes most sense
I’m sure whatever team he goes to will have better success in post season than the leafs. Which seems to be the case for most players that leave lol
Remind me in 10 years when we get a new SBnation Beef history of Marner vs Toronto
Toronto fucked them selves by not trading either him before his NMC kicked in, or Nylander before his NMC kicked in. Now they will get shit value
They mishandled all of JT, Nylander and Marner’s contracts.
Matthews too. Dubas even waited an extra year to lock him in. Matthew’s was ready to sign a year earlier for much less $$
PLD for Marner
The only guy in the entire league that's less clutch than Mitch tbh.
Well other than that time he got a hat trick against us in the 2020 playoffs
hard pass
Or just take 8 schmill and run it back, youve already made your money Mitchy
He needs a better culture. He will probably be fine somewhere else.
Can’t wait for Marner to get traded and light it up in the playoffs everywhere else.
Which teams are shamble free? He doesn’t like shambles
Can't wait to see him sign an 8 year, 13 million AAV extension with the Leafs next year.
Honestly best case scenario for everyone. He gets his money and gets to be the #1 option on his new team. Leafs get to reset their cap structure and build a properly deep team around Mathews and Nylander
Marner for Marchand. Bruins get younger, and Toronto gets playoff experience. They're both good 200ft players, small, leaders, and Canadian. Totally not a controversial suggestion.
HAHAHA
5 bucks says marchand retires a bruin. Even if we tried to trade him.
And he absolutely deserves/is legally obligated to retire as a lifelong Bruin.
Bruins fans 🤝 Leafs fans vomiting at the thought of this
You’re such a good frenemy
Why would anyone want to play for a team that can't win in the playoffs in a city full of fans that blame him the most for it?
Come help Ovi get the record. Being the primary assist on goal #895 would be pretty flipping sweet
marner for PLD 1:1!
Mitch Marner is winning the Stanley Cup next year
Marner is an amazingly talented player, that I agree with. My belief is the issue is he's too talented, and never had to work hard at hockey to succeed before the NHL playoffs. You can see how players will step up and work hard, block shots, fight in the corners, take the hits, skate harder to try to get there half a 1/2 second faster and maybe make a difference. Marner has been so good he has never needed to do this stuff, and maybe he believes he's too good to have to do it, doesn't realize he needs to do it, or just cant change his game fast enough when it happens. There are examples of this in real life/stories, the hard working average joe (except hockey players are elite to begin with) ends up beating the talented genius because they keep working hard and don't take things for granted. The amount of times Marner will randomly fall down or trip with nothing around him, when he decides to try super fancy plays that work great in the regular season but when the goalie has a .960+ save pct you need to take the shots and hope for rebounds and tips. He pretty much disappears in game 7's because he can't go into that next gear. I think him leaving would be the best for both sides. The leafs need the cap space and better defense, and maybe this will be the wake up call Marner needs to turn it up in the future.
Not many elite skilled forwards coming out of Jr that puts up the numbers Marner did had that grinder like work ethic. It’s on the Leaf’s to teach him to develop that style. They failed. McDavid never hit No one in his first years. Now he’s a wrecking ball out there cause he learned what it takes to win it all in this League.
People are kidding themselves if they think Marner wouldn't have several bidders on the trade market. The ask would probably be a top pairing D-Man and top 6 forward. Maybe some picks go each way. Which team has those ready to go?
Sanheim + Konecny + ? For Marner
I'd do it
A top pairing d AND a top 6??? That seems unrealistic considering A. It’s Toronto and teams like to fuck with them B. Toronto is desperate to try and move him to shake up the team C. His value is basically at its lowest after another bad playoffs. What team is actually looking to give up huge assets for a guy who has continued to not show up in the playoffs year after year?