Insider gives Marner "5%" chance of staying with Leafs next year
The Toronto Maple Leafs might be done for their season, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from running full-time.
On Sunday’s episode of the DFO Rundown, hockey insider Frank Seravalli suggested that star forward Mitch Marner will have a rather small likelihood of playing for Toronto next year after a disappointing playoff run where Toronto crashed out in seven games in the first round to the Boston Bruins.
“I think there’s a 5% chance or maybe even less that he’ll be a Leaf next season,” Seravalli said.
Marner had 85 points in 69 games this year in the regular season but added just a goal and two assists in seven playoff games. He is heading into the final year of a six-year contract, with a cap hit of $10.93 million for next season, with the possibility of hitting unrestricted free agency next summer.
The next day, Seravalli doubled down on his comments on another podcast episode.
“They have to make big changes, it’s not a choice. Brendan Shanahan said after the season ended, we have to consider everything, everything is on the table, that’s the message. I can’t imagine doing this again for a ninth consecutive season,” Seravalli said Monday on Daily Faceoff Live. “After spending this much on your core, knowing that it makes zero sense to even enter the season where you are either signing Mitch Marner to an extension or you trade him. To start this year in the final year of his deal makes zero sense. I think there’s a single-digit percent chance that Mitch Marner is in a Maple Leafs’ uniform starting in October.”
Marner, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Leafs since being taken fourth overall in the 2015 draft, spoke at the team’s end-of-season media availability about his desire to sign long-term in Toronto.
“That would be a goal,” Marner said. “I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here. We’ll start thinking about that now and try to figure something out.”
For now, it’s barely the start of a long offseason in which fans, media, and players will be wondering how exactly the Leafs will look when they next hit the ice in the fall.
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