The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to make some changes following their first-round exit to the Boston Bruins. General Manager Brad Treliving and President Brendan Shanahan wasted no time after finding a coaching replacement within a month since being knocked out. Of the ‘Core Four’ for the Leafs, Mitch Marner and John Tavares lead the discussion of who to move.
Can Leafs Management Keep Marner and Tavares?
Among the discussions of making changes, the ‘Core Four’ has been brought up plenty this offseason. For the Leafs, specifically about forwards, Mitch Marner and captain John Tavares. These Ontario-born players are both entering their final year under their current contracts. Tavares currently carries an $11 million cap hit, while Marner’s contract carries $10.9 million. Both these players also carry full no-move clauses in their contracts, which means they get a say in whether they want to get traded or not.
However, with Tavares not producing to the level that his salary suggests, Marner would make the most sense to be used as trade bait. While the idea of trading No. 16 has been a popular one, reports say nothing has been discussed.
Just FYI, it's my understanding as of this moment that the Maple Leafs have not spoken to a single team about Mitch Marner. The Leafs were focused on the coaching situation which they've handled now. But there hasn't been any trade conversations regarding Marner.
Obviously we'll… https://t.co/uXMgmaRKgD— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 21, 2024
A Marner and Berube Sighting
Recently, there has been a photo that has been floating all around Twitter (X). The photo is of Marner and new head coach, Craig Berube. The two of them appear to be having a discussion in some sort of coffee shop and it was said to be located in Etobicoke, Ontario.
After this photo got released, Leafs Nation took it as an opportunity to draw several scenarios of what was discussed. However, this seemed like a conversation that might of been proposed by Berube.
During Berube’s introductory press conference, he said that his first line of duty is to get to know everyone, especially the players. He admitted to already having conversations with multiple players days before sitting on the podium in front of the microphone. There’s a possibility that this conversation could have similar intent to those. It’s fair for a new coach to want to interact with his players and learn more about them, but there was definitely a lot to say on their coffee date.
Its Not All Bad if Marner Stays With the Leafs
Despite Leafs fan being eager get rid of Marner, it’s important to remember what he brings to the team. The winger is an elite playmaker in this league, yet to put up 100 points in a season, but has come close. In 2022, Marner scored a career-high 97 points. Just one season later he beat his own personal best and was just one point shy of the century mark. Conversely, in both those seasons he had missed games, meaning if he played the full 82 games, there’s a good chance he’d have a couple 100-point seasons under his belt.
Another argument from the Maple Leafs fanbase is that, Marner isn’t a ‘playoff performer.’ Weirdly enough, he leads all current Maple Leafs in playoff points with 50, and Marner’s role is to score points. On top of that, he has averaged over a point per game in two consecutive playoffs before the campaign that just passed.
Also, it’s not like Marner doesn’t know what it’s like to play important games at a high level. He won a Memorial Cup in 2016 with the London Knights of the OHL. You could say they had a stacked lineup featuring Matthew Tkachuk and others, but the job still had to be done. He scored 116 points in 57 games that season, and 14 points in just four games at the Memorial Cup.
Contract Year
Drafted fourth overall in 2016, by the Leafs, Marner said he’s looking to stay long term with his hometown team. This will make it more challenging for Treliving if he really does want to move him, considering the NMC. What’s also challenging for the general manager is that, while Marner holds a lot of value based off his pure talent, there’s more to it. As mentioned, he’s got one year remaining on his contract. This decreases Marner’s value a little because whatever team that would acquire him, would have no guarantee that he’ll stay long-term. Also, his value might also be hindered slightly because of his poor production in these past playoffs.
It’s not a terrible idea to orchestrate this situation similarly to William Nylander‘s. The Swede didn’t get signed until almost the midway mark of the season, and proved that he earned his money. Letting Marner play out his contract year might change everyone’s mind about wanting to let him go.
What if the Leafs Do Move Marner?
The Leafs held a season-ending presser, featuring Shanahan, Treliving and MLSE CEO, Keith Pelley. In that press conference, it was made clear that Treliving and the crew will explore all options in the offseason. This would mean that even members of the ‘Core Four’ could be experimented with and used as trade bait.
There are many areas where the Leafs could improve in terms of personnel. Firstly, there are several free agents that need to be addressed this offseason, including Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi. Therefore, trading Marner would allow to clear some of that cap space to make room for others.
In terms of the current roster there are also areas that need attention. For example, a true number one starting goaltender or a top-pairing defenceman.
Also, without stinging any Leafs fans, many remember what happened with Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri after they were shipped out of Toronto and received a lot of doubt on the way. A player as talented as Marner could become another one of those sour situations.
Main photo credit: Dan Hamilton – USA TODAY Sports
