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The reaction of the Toronto Maple Leafs hierarchy in the wake of their seventh first-round exit in eight seasons was that the failures of the Shanahan era were no longer acceptable and that some form of change would be coming, but these words are truly empty until something tangible actually occurs.
The speculation regarding the fate of Mitch Marner began right after the loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 and will likely continue to build throughout the month of June leading up to the NHL Draft in Las Vegas and the beginning of free agency on July 1. Marner is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for an extension next month, but it is hard to fathom that Leafs GM Brad Treliving would express the same willingness to open up the vault for the 27-year-old winger that he did for William Nylander in the walk year of his deal.
Nylander was the subject of rampant trade speculation, but the narrative floated throughout the summer was that the club was not getting the return they expected for a top-flight scoring winger coming off his first 40-goal season. That justified his not being dealt and the Leafs negotiating and eventually signed Nylander to an eight-year, $92 million deal in January. Now it is Marner who is the focal point with one year left on his deal (with a no-movement clause complicating matters even further), and while currently there is a ton of speculation he is the most likely of the core group to move, there are no guarantees.
On the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the situation with Marner could play out into next season. He indicated that there is a lot of time between now and the beginning of the season, but that things are in a delicate place in terms of what Marner’s camp and the Leafs want to get done. Toronto wants to make a deal that helps their team, either by getting a good return or opening up the cap space to sign free agents, while Marner wants to come out of this with long-term security.
Friedman also indicated that there is concern about how the fanbase will react if Marner starts the season with no extension as Nylander did.
At the start of last season, Treliving continually said that negotiations with Nylander were ongoing and progressing, and while there was some nervousness, Leafs fans knew that the club still had some control over the situation since he only had modified no-trade protection and could still make a trade if talks broke down. This time around, if there is no interest on the part of the club to extend Marner and he will not give them a list of preferred destinations, then it begins to play out as a repeat of the Mats Sundin situation 16 years ago and that things could get ugly.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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