Toronto Maple Leafs superstar forward Mitch Marner is looking to get a pretty penny in free agency.
Marner is in the final year of his six-year $65.41 million deal with the Maple Leafs. He will be the top free agent available if he hits July 1, and NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period expects Marner to seek at least $104 million.
“I have been consistent with my reporting on Marner’s future and the expectation that he will be hitting free agency this summer,” Pagnotta wrote. I’ve written about it multiple times and spoke about it several times on air, including last night. He loves Toronto and won’t close the door, but he wants a competitive contract and one that starts at $104 million over eight years. Contract negotiations haven’t taken place this season, by design. Leafs GM Brad Treliving and Marner’s agent Darren Ferris will get back to the drawing board once Toronto’s season is over.
“But those discussions will surely have the cloud of the Leafs considering trading him hovering over them,” Pagnotta added. “Once Marner hits July 1, he can no longer sign an eight-year deal with Toronto. The Leafs have that in their pocket. Will Marner care, especially if a team is willing to give him $14 million a year over seven years? Sure, $98 million isn’t $100 million, but at that price point, who cares?… The salary cap is climbing, and so will Marner’s AAV. Just how high remains to be seen.”
The insider expects Chicago, Utah, Los Angeles, Calgary, Philadelphia, San Jose, Pittsburgh and the Islanders to show interest in signing Marner this offseason.
Marner has recorded 21 goals and 58 assists for 79 points in 62 games this season.
Marner Responds to Trade Rumor
Although Pagnotta expects Marner to hit free agency, the star forward has said he wants to stay in Toronto in the past.
At the trade deadline, Toronto asked Marner if he would waive his no-trade clause to go to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal for Mikko Rantanen, with Rantanen agreeing to an extension. However, Marner decided not to waive his no-trade clause, and 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.”
When asked if that means he will re-sign with Toronto, he says he isn’t focused on the contract stuff right now.
“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 NHL All-Star.
Maple Leafs GM Hopeful to Re-Sign Marner
Although Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving discussed trading away Mitch Marner, he says he wants to keep the star forward in Toronto.
After the trade deadline, Treliving says his goal is to re-sign Marner and keep him in Toronto for good.
“We want Mitch here for a long time,” Treliving said. “It’s not a distraction. But I said, we think the world of Mitch. But it’s just not a question we’re going to get into every day. We’ve dealt with it here. We move forward. We want Mitch. We’re all focused on the next 19 (games) to go. So I just wanted to come and address you on it so you don’t have to track me down, and we’ll move on, okay?”
Toronto selected Marner fourth overall in the 2015 NHL draft.
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