While the Toronto Maple Leafs once again exited early from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in part due to poor performances from the team’s core players, Mitch Marner is still expected to be one of the most sought out players this summer should he reach unrestricted free agency.
In the final year of a six-year pact that carries a cap hit just shy of $11 million, the 28-year-old Markham, Ont., native has spent the past nine seasons with the Maple Leafs where through 657 career contests he has collected 221 goals and 520 assists for 741 points, underscored by a career-high 102-point finish in 2024-25.
On Tuesday’ episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed whether the Maple Leafs could deal Marner’s rights ahead of unrestricted free agency in order to salvage a return for the longtime forward.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Could you see the Leafs going the sign and trade route, where they dump off Marner’s rights to try to get something back? Do you think that is a path they would go down? Does it make sense?
Frank Seravalli: Just look at Brad Treliving’s history. Matthew Tkachuk, sign and trade. It is a little bit different because Tkachuk had one year of restricted free agency left, so he kind of had to get traded. Don’t expect a Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar-like return. That is not going to happen. But could they jump the market and find a situation where Marner wants to pre-negotiate with and everybody gets a win-win? The Leafs get a little something in return. That team gets a chance to get ahead of it and get the guy that they want and Marner gets an eighth year. It is entirely possible.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here:
