Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours. For quite some time now, this edition of rumours has been the biggest discussion of the offseason. That rumour being Mitch Marner and the fact that he is a pending free agent. At the end of next season, Marner will become an UFA and will require a new contract. On TSN’s radio show, First Up, insider Darren Dreger was invited as a guest and provided new information about Marner.
Update on Rumours Surrounding Mitch Marner Contract Negotiations
All signs point to Marner starting next season without a new deal. Even though a new contract hasn’t been signed, the two parties appear to be “in a good place.” Both Marner’s camp and the Maple Leafs are fine with the way the situation will play out. They believe that there is no rush to get something done at this stage.
“I do think that there is a good appetite from both sides to get something done,” said Dreger.
At the beginning of this offseason, it felt like there was much more drama on this matter than there is now. The offseason began with Leafs general manager Brad Treliving exploring trades for the superstar winger. However, Marner has a full no-move clause on his contract. This made it all the more challenging to browse for potential trades. In the end, Toronto did not proceed with exploring a deal that would include moving Marner.
Marner Set for Big Season
General manager Brad Treliving and the Leafs are no strangers to a situation like this. Last season, they also had a case where a star player was a pending free agent. That player was William Nylander, and it’s safe to say that the situation brought the best out of Nylander. There is a possibility that we could see Marner have an outstanding season, much like Nylander did. The Swede ended up scoring a career-high 98 points with 40 goals on the year. His season was good enough to earn him an all-star selection a spot on Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-off team. Most importantly, he earned himself a handsome contract. Starting next season, he will be earning $11.5M and will be doing the same for seven seasons after that. This is something that Marner will be looking for, not specifically in terms of an identical contract, but for a very successful contract season.
It was reported not so long ago by Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman that Marner was training with Colorado‘s Nathan MacKinnon and Pittsburgh‘s Sidney Crosby. Two of some of the game’s best players, and Marner was “dynamite” while training with those stars. From that story, it seems that Marner is taking this upcoming season extremely seriously. While every professional athlete takes their profession seriously, Marner is going through the offseason with a little extra intensity than he would have in previous years.
Last season, Marner played 69 games for the Maple Leafs. He missed some games because of an injury towards the end of the regular season. The 27-year-old finished the season with 26 goals and 85 points. However, expect the two-time NHL all-star to reach 100 points for the first time in his career.
