Mitch Marner doesn't want to waive no-trade clause with Leafs: report

There appears to be a bit of a standoff going on these days between Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs when it comes to the trade market.

Marner 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. And while sports talk radio and television shows have been quick to think up scenarios sending the veteran forward to just about any of the NHL’s other 31 teams, reality seems a little bit slower on that front.

In an article for The Athletic, Jonas Siegel and James Mirtle discussed a few roadblocks to a possible Marner trade.

“One, in particular, seems to be a lack of teams that a) Marner would conceivably accept a trade to that can b) accommodate his $10.9 million cap hit for next season and c) are willing to send back piece(s) the Leafs would find attractive, which would ideally include an impact defenceman,” Siegel and Mirtle wrote today.

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 in a first-round loss to the Boston Bruins.

“There’s also the extension that Marner and his agent, Darren Ferris, would have to work out with said team, assuming that Marner even consents to the trade,” wrote Siegel and Mirtle. “The timeline alone seems to be working against a trade, as does the fact his camp continues to broadcast that they have no intention of waiving a no-movement clause to facilitate a deal.”

In any case, there should be a whole host of transactions coming across the league over the next week. The NHL Draft is set for June 28 and 29, while free agency officially opens next week on July 1.

You might also like:
• Leafs goalie prospect coming to North America from Russia next season