The Toronto Maple Leafs thought of trading star forward Mitch Marner last offseason.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet revealed the Maple Leafs looked to trade Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights for Shea Theodore in a stunning one-for-one trade. However, Friedman said Vegas declined the trade offer.
“As I heard, they told people, ‘You wanna watch Shea Theodore? You can buy a ticket to watch him play for us.’ And they followed through on their word,” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts The Podcast.
A Marner for Theodore trade would have been a blockbuster and a massive trade. However, Vegas decided to decline it as they wanted to keep the star defenseman.
Marner ended up completing his six-year, $65.41 million deal with the Maple Leafs and will now be a free agent on July 1. The star forward had a career year as he recorded 27 goals and 75 assists for 102 points in 81 games, which was the first time he had 100+ points in a season.
Theodore, meanwhile, is a top-four defenseman who can add some offense, but also plays well defensively. Thedoroe is set to enter the first year of his seven-year, $51.98 million deal with the Golden Knights. With Vegas this season, Theodore recorded 7 goals and 50 assists for 57 points in 67 games.
Maple Leafs’ Marner Unsure on Future
Marner will be the top free agent available on July 1, but he’s unsure about his future.
The star winger was asked about his free agency at the Maple Leafs’ locker cleanout day, and he admitted he hadn’t thought about free agency yet.
“I’ve always loved my time here. I’ve loved being here,” Marner said. “Like I said to you guys the other night, I have been so grateful and, you know, haven’t processed anything yet. It’s still so fresh and losing sucks… In the next couple of weeks, I’ll sit down with my wife and we’ll start talking. Trying to figure out what’s next.”
Marner will be highly sought after by several teams and could even re-sign with the Maple Leafs. Toronto coach Craig Berube also praised Marner at his year-end press conference and said he’d like to see Marner back.
“Great. I love the guy and I love coaching him, love his energy, personality. He’s a hell of a player. You know, he does a lot for this team night in night out in a lot of different areas of the game. So, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him,” Berube said.
Marner is a three-time NHL All-Star.
Marner and Golden Knights Have Mutual Interest
Ahead of July 1, Marner will be highly sought after by several teams.
However, Marner reportedly has a list of a couple of teams he’s interested in signing with. NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of TSN revealed the Golden Knights are one of those teams Marner is interested in signing with.
“I think a lot of the usual suspects for Marner. Teams like Anaheim and Detroit, and Chicago will want to get in on it,” LeBrun said on TSN 1050’s OverDrive. “I think Marner himself, if he goes to market, which I think is likely, will probably look at the usual suspects. Florida, Vegas, all the teams that we always end up keen on. Where players seem to love to go.”
Marner will likely command upwards of $14 million per season in free agency.
Insider: Maple Leafs Explored Trading Marner in 1-for-1 Blockbuster Last Offseason