The Toronto Maple Leafs may be forced to try and replace Mitchell Marner this summer, as it seems inevitable he hits the open market and tests free agency. While Marner does have a no-movement clause in his current contract, the Maple Leafs may try and trade Marner’s signing rights so that they don’t lose him for nothing. Maple Leafs’ general manager Brad Treliving admitted that things are going to be tough this summer, but they will continue to try and re-sign Marner.
One thing the Maple Leafs could try and do is a sign-and-trade, meaning they allow Marner to negotiate with other teams, and when he agrees on a contract with another team, the Maple Leafs then pull off a trade to bring assets back. His value still won’t be too high if they try and pull this kind of deal off around the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, since the Maple Leafs won’t have any leverage in a deal like this. Unfortunately, if Marner is dead set on joining another team, the Maple Leafs may not have a choice but to accept getting minimal assets in return rather than nothing.
Marner, who is 28 years old, was drafted fourth overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Maple Leafs and made an impact as soon as he got into the league in the 2016-17 season, notching 61 points in 77 games in his rookie season. Throughout his career, he has scored 221 goals and added 520 assists for 741 points through 657 games, which comes out to a 1.13 points-per-game average. In 70 career playoff games, he has scored 13 goals and added 50 assists for 63 points. While his performance in the postseason has been criticized by fans, his offensive production in the playoffs speaks for itself.
What Teams Could Pursue Marner?
If teams were that interested in bringing in Marner and wanted to do a sign-and-trade, there would be teams willing to pay up to bring him in. The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights have both been connected to Marner in the past and have had trade talks with the Maple Leafs, and while they didn’t go very far at the time, they seem like two of the most aggressive teams when free agency comes around, and could try and get a headstart rather than letting him have the chance to talk to all 31 other teams in the NHL.
If Marner does hit free agency, it’s hard to count out the San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks, who both have a ton of money to spend and could overpay Marner to bring him in and convince him to join a rebuilding franchise. A team like the Edmonton Oilers makes sense, considering they tried to get Mikko Rantanen at the 2025 Trade Deadline and failed, but they may not have the cap space to bring in a big-name free agent like Marner anymore.
The Boston Bruins will be trying to get back into contention after a brutal 2024-25 campaign, so making Marner an offer makes sense. The Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, and Vancouver Canucks could all be willing to spend big this summer and could be dark horse contenders to land Marner as well. Time will tell, but it’s going to be an interesting month for the Maple Leafs and the teams that want to try and bring in a franchise-altering forward.
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