A reporter covering the Toronto Maple Leafs shared a scenario involving Mitch Marner that could deeply hurt the team's fans.
Mitch Marner's future has already been spilling a lot of ink since the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Florida Panthers in the division finals.
After many tough years of being eliminated in the playoffs despite great regular seasons, Marner, who's been widely criticized by media and fans, is currently thinking about his future in the NHL.
As of now, it's unknown whether Marner will sign in Toronto or will pursue his goal of winning a Stanley Cup with another team.
In a recent declaration, TSN's Bryan Hayes revealed that the forward could be tempted to leave the team to join an organization that won recently and could be competitive for many years, like Kevin Durant did when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors in the NBA:
In Hayes' words:
'I think the fan base would spontaneously combust. I don't think they could ever recover from something like that. People's heads would be popping off, and I find it hard to believe we will get to that point based on my experience following the career of Mitch Marner. The idea that he would take less money seems very, very far-fetched.''I'm doing this because I think I can win in Vegas or win in Florida and kind of pull a Kevin Durant. That would also really sting because I think it would be truthful. I think a lot of Leaf fans would take offense to that, but it'd be tough to argue against it, right? Because the Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup in almost 60 years.'
Updates on Marner are expected as we get closer to the NHL draft and free agency. Stay tuned for further details.