My guess is Mitchy and his advisors are drooling at the idea of hitting the open market on July 1st.

He thinks there will be a bidding war, and I'm not sure he's wrong.
- Atomic Wedgie

I heard somewhere that Nashville contacted the Leafs to "keep them in the loop" if Mitchy is available for trade. Not sure if that's accurate at all, but I fully expect there to be lots of interest in a player like him. I also don't think he'll be available till July 1st, 2025 if the Leafs play hardball, but more than likely available July 1st, 2033

I can't see him signing a deal for anything less than $11.5M - which Nylander got.

IMHO, that's the bare minimum. That's where negotiations start.

And then his camp starts talking about % of cap instead of dollars, so they want a bump up.
- Atomic Wedgie

At 8 years yes, 7 years more so 12.5M

Looking back, we can probably(!) all agree signing Tavares was a mistake.



I agree with senstroll on this one - JT's contract would not have been such an anchor had the cap continued to rise year over year as it always had.

In addition (and just to be cheeky so take it tongue in cheek all you JT h8rs) had the Leafs not got JT they would still be looking for their first playoff series win in forever since he scored the goal that won them the Tampa series.

- Cush29

if the cap had actually grown at its normal pace.. they should have had the room to make better depth additions.. instead of having to penny pinch every player they needed.

but really it doesnt matter...turns out..cap flattened and it probably hurt the team instead of helping, signing JT

Well if they tell him he is leaving, the dream is dead. Hanging on for 1 more year isn't exactly "living the Toronto boy dream"

In years past I would agree. They never wanted to trade him.

It is time, I find it hard to believe it won't get done.
- Santo_44

I certainly hope you're right. But everything I know about Paul Marner screams "screw them, take them to the cleaners or walk for nothing" and I would be THRILLED if that's not the case.

I certainly hope you're right. But everything I know about Paul Marner screams "screw them, take them to the cleaners or walk for nothing" and I would be THRILLED if that's not the case.
- Whipper

at 21 I can see why Paul played a huge role in it...he probably had money signs in his eyes because he knew he was going to be taken care of. dude is 27 now, you hope him and his wife can make decisions without papa.

I certainly hope you're right. But everything I know about Paul Marner screams "screw them, take them to the cleaners or walk for nothing" and I would be THRILLED if that's not the case.
- Whipper

Marner is married now. Not sure his dad has as big of influence on his contract talks as he once did

I can't see him signing a deal for anything less than $11.5M - which Nylander got.

IMHO, that's the bare minimum. That's where negotiations start.

And then his camp starts talking about % of cap instead of dollars, so they want a bump up.
- Atomic Wedgie

Oh, I know. That's why I have this 1 in a 1000 pipe dream that Mitch has a moment of enlightenment and thinks, "hey, if I get max $$$ from this team, they're never going to be able to compete at the top level. Why don't I take a reasonable pay cut to stay in my home town, playing for the team I grew up cheering for, and become THE ONE GUY that took a team friendly deal."

*snaps back to reality*

So, $12M x 8?

at 21 I can see why Paul played a huge role in it...he probably had money signs in his eyes because he knew he was going to be taken care of. dude is 27 now, you hope him and his wife can make decisions without papa.
- Santo_44

Hate to break this to you, but I know for a fact that this guy is an absolute airhead that can't have an independent thought without dad.

Tall task...but they should find a way to make room for Guentzel.

He doesn't get his 7th year.

I also think there are some mid tier financial teams that will be more open to giving him the dough if they are only paying him 775K this season.

Also in years past its been Willy who is taken off the PP when things aren't going well or needs a change..that is going to be Mitch now, especially if the leafs plan to move on from him.
- Santo_44

did you mean 8th year if he elect to go to free agency route???

Also just because he's getting paid league minimum after the Leafs pay his bonus on July 1st doesn't mean mid tier financial team would trade for him.
His cap hit is still 10.9M. That alotta cap to fit in.

if the cap had actually grown at its normal pace.. they should have had the room to make better depth additions.. instead of having to penny pinch every player they needed.

but really it doesnt matter...turns out..cap flattened and it probably hurt the team instead of helping, signing JT
- senstroll

so why aren't we blaming that dude that ate the bat soup for the Leafs problems

At 8 years yes, 7 years more so 12.5M
- Santo_44

from a different team

at 21 I can see why Paul played a huge role in it...he probably had money signs in his eyes because he knew he was going to be taken care of. dude is 27 now, you hope him and his wife can make decisions without papa.
- Santo_44

lets hope so

did you mean 8th year if he elect to go to free agency route???

Also just because he's getting paid league minimum after the Leafs pay his bonus on July 1st doesn't mean mid tier financial team would trade for him.
His cap hit is still 10.9M. That alotta cap to fit in.
- dmnted

If we're going to get anything back worth having, (not a salary dump), we'll likely have to retain.

I think it's a little unfair to criticize the Leafs for building around Nylander, Marner and Matthews - they drafted top-level talent, and they needed to keep them in the fold (can you imagine what people here would have written if they had gone to another team?).

Looking back, we can probably(!) all agree signing Tavares was a mistake.

If I had to level fair criticism at the Leafs, it would be that they haven't put in enough effort to draft defencemen.

None in 2013.

1 3rd rounder in 2014

Dermott in the 2nd round in 2015 (and garbage in the 3rd, 4th and 6th)

3rd, 4th and 6th in 2016

Liljegren, a 2nd and a 5th in 2017

Sandin, Durzi (2nd round), 4th and 5th in 2018

2nd, 5th and 7th in 2019

3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th in 2020

Nothing in 2021

Nothing in 2022

6th round in 2023
- Atomic Wedgie

I don't blame them for drafting those guys, but by the summer of 21' they knew about the flat cap and they knew that the Core4 were struggling to get "it" done in the playoffs. My blame-o-meter goes into the red as of that summer. They had opportunities to alter the roster by moving value for value and they chose not to.

The honourable thing to do is let him play out the 11 million contract and then sign a three year contract for 4 million a year

I don't blame them for drafting those guys, but by the summer of 21' they knew about the flat cap and they knew that the Core4 were struggling to get "it" done in the playoffs. My blame-o-meter goes into the red as of that summer. They had opportunities to alter the roster by moving value for value and they chose not to.
- The Law

It's like Shanahan doesn't even read these forums, WTF?!?!?

I lean towards optimism as well, I'm mostly trying to talk some posters off the ledge slowly. JT will not waive, and MM 80% won't, they're both back next year. But they do have some flexibility. I'll let Brad cook before I judge, he's done well given his situation.
- Whipper

I've got Marner 50/50 on my betting sheet ...but remember, I'm an optimist.

The honourable thing to do is let him play out the 11 million contract and then sign a three year contract for 4 million a year
- leafersince62

Absolutely. My point on the contracts is that they made it very difficult to move off a failed plan.
- fifty__missions

Marner and Nylander were completely tradeable up until last summer.

I've got Marner 50/50 on my betting sheet ...but remember, I'm an optimist.
- The Law

did you mean 8th year if he elect to go to free agency route???

Also just because he's getting paid league minimum after the Leafs pay his bonus on July 1st doesn't mean mid tier financial team would trade for him.
His cap hit is still 10.9M. That alotta cap to fit in.
- dmnted

Cap is going up.

Also makes it easy for a cap strapped team to trade for him, a lot cheaper getting a Chicago to retain half when its only 350K in real dollars.

The 775k is massive.

These are businesses at the end of the day.

Marner and Nylander were completely tradeable up until last summer.
- The Law

Yeah, but that was never an option as we still had to run it back for the 6th time, silly.

Marner and Nylander were completely tradeable up until last summer.
- The Law

It would have been interesting to see if they could have traded them.

Not many deals like this anymore.

When was the last big Leafs trade?

I can't really think of one in the last few years.

Probably Kessel to Pittsburgh.