Another day, another report touching on the ever-evolving saga between the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of their superstar forwards.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, speaking on “Leafs Morning Take” on June 26, Mitch Marner would be open to allowing a trade to “four teams,” although the insider didn’t name any potential destinations.
“The Leafs were pissed. They were genuinely, genuinely upset.”
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“There are a few teams, I don’t know the exact number. I believe there are four teams that he would go to,” Pagnotta said. “I think there’s a few more, but it all comes down to what [GM Brad] Treliving and the staff are going to pull off.”
Pagnotta, however, mentioned two franchises that will not land Marner in a trade: the Utah Hockey Club and the San Jose Sharks.
“Leafs Morning Take” host Nick Alberga asked Pagnotta about Marner’s potential destinations and whether the rumor placing Marner in Utah was false.
“These kinds of things, when they start taking a life of their own and they get like several hundred retweets … the Leafs were pissed,” Pagnotta said. “They were genuinely, genuinely upset. I spoke to a couple people within front office and they were not happy at all about it.”
About the Sharks, Pagnotta said he believes Marner is “not going to San Jose,” and he sees it improbable that the Sharks “aren’t gonna work out a deal and all of a sudden he’s gonna say ‘yes.'”
Marner is entering the final season of the seven-year, $65.4 million contract he signed in 2019. The deal includes a full no-move clause for the final two seasons, the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.
Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner ‘Holds All the Cards’
The Boston Bruins eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs and at the end-of-season availability, Marner revealed his desire to stay in Toronto and sign a long-term extension with the franchise.
“That would be a goal,” Marner said on May 6. “I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here. We’ll start thinking about that now and try to figure something out.”
Given Marner’s mindset and hopes to remain in Toronto, as well as his power to block any trade with the NMC present in his contract, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff believes the situation calls for patience on the side of the Maple Leafs.
Mitch Marner’s future in Toronto is still up in the air.
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“The way I view this process, and the information that I’ve gleaned from this process is, there’s an order to this. Because Mitch Marner has the full no-move … full no-trade, he holds all the cards,” Seravalli said on June 28.
“His camp has said publicly, ‘We intend to play out the year.’ And the key word there is intend,” Seravalli said. “The Leafs need to go out and get a deal first. They need to have something tangible that they’re willing to do for one of the top 15 players in the game, in order to make that happen. So until they have an offer or offers, potentially multiple options that they could present to them, there’s no reason in trying to arm wrestle Mitch Marner and his camp over the clause until that happens.”
Should the Leafs Trade Nylander Instead of Marner?
Former Leafs general manager Brian Burke shared his view of the Marner situation on “Leafs Morning Take” on July 3.
Burke said Toronto should trade William Nylander instead of Marner, arguing the latter is a more valuable player for the organization.
“I think the logical guy to move would be Willie Nylander, not Mitch Marner. I’ve said that before,” Burke said. “If you have to talk one of them into leaving, it’s not popular, people aren’t going to like it but they are going to get it.
“I think that Mitch Marner is a really important player on the team. He kills penalties, I know people are down on him right now, but he’s a great kid and an important player. They are both good players, I just think Mitch Marner is a much more valuable player.”
Nylander is about to enter the first year of an eight-year, $92 million contract extension he signed with the Maple Leafs on January 8.
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Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner ‘Would Go to Four Teams’ in Trade: Report