Will the Toronto Maple Leafs be able to keep Mitch Marner next year?
If Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was looking for a signature moment this month, he might’ve just tripled his wishes.
After scoring the winning goal in overtime of the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Sweden, and setting up Connor McDavid for the tournament-winning goal in OT against the United States, Marner found some magic once again at TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday night.
After the Leafs fell 3-0 against the Bruins, Marner scored a pair of goals — including, yes, another overtime winner to eke out a 5-4 victory over Toronto’s longtime rivals.
“Mitch had a heck of a game. He played a lot of minutes — I overplayed him, but we killed too many penalties tonight, so he was used on the penalty kill,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “He was an excellent player tonight, I thought.”
Marner now has 73 points in 57 games by way of 18 goals and 55 assists. His 1.28 points-per-game is the second-best of his nine NHL seasons, all of which have been in Toronto since being drafted fourth overall nearly a decade ago.
And while he’s had quite the offensive output over his time in Toronto, his future is uncertain, as he’s in the final year of a six-year deal worth US$10.9 million per season, with no signs that he’ll be re-upping that deal before the end of the year.
Will the Leafs be able to keep Marner?
If all things were equal, Mitch Marner would likely want to stay with the Maple Leafs his whole career. A local product with his first child on the way in the next few months, it’d be hard to imagine him playing anywhere but Toronto.
But with Marner likely to sign a massive long-term contract this summer, it appears that he holds all the leverage in negotiations with Toronto or elsewhere.
With Marner holding a full no-move clause, a trade away to recoup assets doesn’t seem like all that likely a move either.
“Marner appears content to ride this out and see where things land. As free agency nears, there’s less incentive for players to sign early,” NHL Insider Chris Johnston told TSN 1050’s First Up on Tuesday.
William Nylander signed last year for a $11.6 million cap hit over eight seasons, which would probably be the baseline for any Marner deal. Given the fact that his production has slightly outpaced Nylander’s throughout their careers, Marner could conceivably see his contract balloon above $12 million.
Losing a franchise icon for free would be catastrophic for the Leafs’ chances of building a contender, even if they were to keep Nylander and Auston Matthews around.
Between Marner, John Tavares, and other free agent forwards, the Leafs have more than $28 million of cap space to play with this summer. And if they have any hope of remaining competitive in years to come, you can bet that a new deal for Marner will be priority No. 1 for Brad Treliving and the Leafs front office.
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