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The Toronto Maple Leafs seem to find themselves linked to every free agent and player available for trade. On the other hand, we’ve hardly heard from the actual members of the organization since the season ended.
That changed on Saturday, June 29, when new head coach Craig Berube spoke for the first time since he was hired to coach the team in replacement of Sheldon Keefe.
Luke Fox of Sportsnet shared a quote from Berube related to his perception of Mitch Marner and his future relationship with the player in sporting terms. Berube hopes to coach Marner during the 2024-25 season when everybody returns to work in training camp.
“He’s a character guy,” Berube told Fox on June 29. “He’s a great person. Obviously, a great player. I’m looking forward to coaching him.”
The last (and first) time we saw Berube and Marner together in public before this statement was in May. Back then, X user @vinterista_ shared a photo of Marner and new Leafs head coach Craig Berube meeting in a coffee shop on Monday, May 27, and the Spittin’ Chiclets account re-shared the pic helping it go viral.
The nature of the meeting is still unknown.
Is Mitch Marner On the Maple Leafs Trade Block?
Two days after the infamous “Coffee Meeting” took place, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff listed Mitch Marner as the No. 1 “Trade Target” for the 2024 offseason in his first such list.
Seravalli updated his board a full month after that initial release, on June 28. The No. 1 trade target? You guessed it, the same Mitch Marner.
“GM Brad Treliving didn’t reveal much in his pre-Draft media availability on Wednesday (June 26) in Vegas. He referred to Marner multiple times as “a star,” and told media to not read too much into the noise that’s out there. There’s a reason for the noise,” Seravalli wrote about Marner. “We believe the Leafs will do everything in their power to attempt to move Marner this summer. They are entertaining conversations on Marner.”
In Seravalli’s eyes, the main problem for the Maple Leafs if they want to part ways with Marner before it’s too late is finding a team willing to pay the price of acquisition.
“Will a team step up to pay a price commensurate to what Toronto believes is his value? And if that does happen, will Marner agree to waive his full ‘no-trade’ clause, or will he be steadfast in wanting to return? Those two things are a different story, but the fact is Toronto is trying.”
Marner has a No-Move Clause in his six-year, 65.4 million contract. He can block any trade the Leafs agree to with another NHL franchise. Marner’s contract runs through the 2024-25 season, and he will earn $10.9 million next year.
The Leafs winger finished the 2023-24 season with 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 total points in just 69 games played. He added 3 points in seven postseason games, including 1 goal and 2 assists.
Maple Leafs Could Still Offer Mitch Marner a Contract Extension
The Leafs haven’t decided if they will trade forward Mitch Marner or sign him to a new deal to keep in tow.
Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported on a June 15 episode of The Chris Johnston Show that Toronto still doesn’t know how to proceed with Marner’s situation.
“The Leafs are not leaning on Mitch Marner right now,” Johnston said. “They have not decided 100 percent they have to trade him, and they are going to make life uncomfortable, and they’re getting the list of names. None of that’s what’s going on.”
According to Johnston, the Maple Leafs will gauge the trade market before asking Marner to waive his no-movement clause. Even then, it’s not guaranteed that the forward would accept any trade away from Toronto.
“At this point in time, I don’t think the Leafs have a deal for them (Marner and his agent), and I don’t think they’ve gone to them and asked them for a list or anything like that,” Johnston said. “It does not make any sense for the Leafs to go to war with this player, to make this any more public than it already is, they are quietly behind the scenes see and gauge if there is a trade market.
“And if there is, they will take it to the next step and see if Mitch Marner is willing to consider that move,” Johnston said.
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