Toronto Maple Leafs superstar forward Mitch Marner is hoping to be the team’s highest-paid player, according to one analyst.
NHL analyst and former Maple Leafs defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo was on First Up on TSN 1050 and claimed Marner wants to be the highest-paid Maple Leaf. Colaiacovo thinks that is the major holdup, which is why he has yet to re-sign.
“I truly do believe that Mitch Marner wants to be a Maple Leaf for the rest of his life, but he also wants to be the highest-paid Maple Leaf,” Colaiacovo said. “That’s what I’m led to believe, just because of how this whole contract is playing out right now…
“If the Leafs called and said, ‘Hey, we want to look at getting something done,’ and you say no, but you’re still telling everybody you want to be a Maple Leaf — it’s pretty simple to do the math,” Colaiacovo added.
Marner is in the final year of his six-year $65.41 million deal with the Maple Leafs. If he does want to be the highest-paid Maple Leafs player, he would need to surpass Auston Matthews of $13.25 million per season.
Marner has recorded 21 goals and 59 assists for 80 points in 63 games.
Marner Not Focused on Contract
With Marner set to be a free agent on July 1, his future has been a major question mark.
However, at the trade deadline, Marner was rumored to be involved in trade talks for Mikko Rantanen. Marner reportedly declined to waive his no-movement clause and the star forward says he isn’t focusing on that.
“I wasn’t focused on it. I had a feeling that maybe something might happen,” Marner said. “But, yeah, I’m here to play hockey with this team, like I said, and I’m focused with this team. And that’s what I can tell you.”
With the Maple Leafs reportedly looking to trade Marner, many wondered if that will hurt their relationship. However, Marner says he still isn’t focusing on his contract, as instead, he’s just focused on the season.
“Like I talked to you guys, man, I’m not gonna get into any of this contract stuff,” Marner said. “I’ve been very grateful, and I’ve loved my time being a Leaf. So, I’ll leave it with you guys. And we got 20 games left here that aren’t going to be easy. We got to make sure we just keep our foot down on the gas here and give ourselves the best position to go into playoffs.”
Marner is a three-time All-Star.
Maple Leafs GM Hopes to Re-Sign Marner
Although Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving looked to trade Marner, the hope is to keep the star forward in Toronto for the foreseeable future.
Marner is a key player for the Maple Leafs and Treliving says the goal is to keep Marner in Toronto long-term.
“We’re aligned with Mitch, we’re worried about this season. We’re worried about the games we have coming up. We want Mitch here for a long time,” said Treliving. “It’s not a distraction, but like I said we think the world of him. But, it’s just not a question we’re going to get into every day.”
Marner was selected fourth overall by Toronto in the 2015 NHL draft.
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