Mарle Leаfs' Offseаson Turmoіl Tһreаtens Stаnley Cuр Tіtle Hoрes Amіd NHL Rumors

Being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan has been anything but easy in 2024.

The team lost in the first round of the NHL Playoffs (again), saw head coach Sheldon Keefe dismissed, and entered the postseason with more questions than answers.

It has not gotten any better since.

The potential trade of alternate captain Mitch Marner looms overhead, with the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan reporting that expectations were that any movement that happened with a potential deal would take place in the weeks after the NHL Draft.

"We're heading into that territory on the calendar now, but there has been nothing to lead anyone to believe that a Marner trade actually will happen," he wrote.

He continued, "The line from Marner's camp all along is that the star winger will be in camp in September with the Leafs as he heads into the final year of his contract. As we say, there has been nothing concrete to expect anything otherwise."

The last thing the Maple Leafs need is the distraction of Marner trade.

The 27-year-old is one of the core players for Toronto, an 85-point right winger who passes as well as anyone on the team. He is also on an expiring contract that will allow him to walk away for nothing in return in July 2025 if an extension or trade is not reached.

The Marner situation is just one dark cloud threatening to rain on the Leafs' offseason.

The team has whiffed on adding new pieces through free agency, with Jeff Skinner opting not to sign with the club and play on a front line that includes Marner and 69 goal-scorer Auston Matthews. Add to that the failures to sign Brady Sjkei, Matt Roy, and Brett Pesce and you have the optics of a historic franchise that players do not feel obliged to sign with.

And if the failure to improve the roster is not enough, the potential for drama in the locker room should be as Koshan also reported the Leafs are weighing the decision to remove the captaincy from respected veteran John Tavares and give it to franchise star Matthews.

Tavares, like Marner, is a free agent after the upcoming season

Such a move would be embarrassing for a beloved, respected veteran like Tavares, who grew up a rabid fan of the team, even if Matthews is the guy in Toronto.

It is an unnecessary distraction and the fact that it is even being discussed suggests priorities within the organization, which should be focused on winning the club's first Stanley Cup since 1967, are not where they should be.

Perhaps that self-inflicted drama is why free agents have opted to stay away. Maybe it is the constant pressure to do what generations of Leafs have not in nearly six decades.

Whatever the case, the Leafs are in danger of watching a championship window, in which they have three of the best young players in the game performing at high levels and accented by the great Tavares, close.