A generation ago, Toronto Maple Leafs star center Mats Sundin made a personal decision that earned him the ire of many Maple Leafs fans when he vetoed the idea of a trade that would've helped the Leafs add a prospect and/or draft pick when it became clear the Leafs were headed in a different direction than the one Sundin was on. Instead, Sundin left Toronto via free agency when he joined the Vancouver Canucks in 2008, a choice that frustrates some Buds fans to this day.
We're telling you this because a similar situation is playing out in Toronto right now when it comes to the future of Maple Leafs star winger Mitch Marner. A new Sportsnet report suggests that Leafs management has attempted to kick off contract negotiations with Marner, but they've essentially been completely rebuffed by Marner's representative, making it clearer than ever that Marner's days as a Leaf are over.
"Marner's camp is not engaged with (Leafs brass)," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said in the report. "And I think everybody knows the way this is going to be heading - that on July 1, he's gonna go out there, he's gonna hit the market, he's gonna pick a team, he's gonna set a contract, and he's not coming back to Toronto."
With Marner's future becoming more apparent, you can see why many Leafs fans will not give him a warm reception whenever he returns to Toronto as a member of a different team. The Marner saga that played out this season – with Leafs GM Brad Treliving allegedly approaching Marner during the season to ask him to waive his no-trade clause, only to be rejected by Marner – has left a sour taste in the mouths of Buds supporters.
Let's be clear, though – Marner was well within his rights to shoot down a trade. He had a no-move clause in his contract, and that was earned in good faith and used in good faith. But just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you *should* do something, and that's true in this case.
If Marner was truly looking out for the good of the Leafs franchise, he could've accepted a trade and allowed Toronto to acquire an elite player – like now-former Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes right winger Mikko Rantanen, who reportedly would've been part of a trade that sent Marner to the ‘Canes and Rantanen to the Leafs. Instead, Rantanen was dealt to the Dallas Stars, and the Leafs are left holding the bag with no replacement elite player to show for it.
With that said, while Marner's wife was pregnant with their first child at the time the Leafs came to him and asked him to waive his no-move clause, it isn't like Marner was being asked to move away from her forever. Essentially, he would've been gone for a couple months – an extended road trip, more or less. And if he had done that, Marner would've earned the eternal gratefulness of Leafs fans for a selfless move.
Instead, he dug in his heels and chose to stay with Toronto, knowing full well he wasn't going to be a Maple Leaf in the long term. That's the burr that will stay in the saddle of Leafs fans. That's what they're going to remember as much as they remember the good times Marner had in Blue and White.
It's true Toronto still will have something to show for it in the wake of Marner's departure – namely, the $10.9 million in salary cap space he was taking up. That's no small amount of money, but it's not the same as acquiring a player of Rantanen's (or Marner's) stature. And that's where the ill will is going to bubble to the surface whenever Marner comes back to Toronto wearing a different uniform.
Marner did a lot of great things in his nine years as a Leaf. But he couldn't get the job done in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and his inability to ratchet up his game to a level commensurate with a salary that puts him in rare air in the NHL food chain ultimately overshadowed his regular-season successes. That's why Leafs management will be moving in a different direction, and that's why Leafs fans aren't universally upset by Marner's imminent departure. Sometimes the chemistry just isn't where you need it to be, and you have to go in another direction.
The Leafs will spend Marner's cap space somewhere else – maybe on one player, maybe on a few players. But all that will resonate in the minds of Leafs fans is the fact that Marner could've helped the franchise on his way out, and chose not to. In a team sport where the overriding culture is about putting the team above individual interests, Marner ultimately put himself first. Again, that no-move clause was something he negotiated for, but that doesn't make it any more palatable for Leafs fans who only care about the long-term good of the organization.
Unfortunately, Marner's legacy will be at least partially a negative one, and that's on both him and Leafs management for the team not succeeding on the ice. And the way he's choosing to exit is going to color his image in Toronto in a way nobody hoped it would. So when he comes back to Scotiabank Arena wearing a Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights or another team's jersey next season and some Maple Leafs fans jeer him lustily, he has to understand – he did what was in his best interests, and in booing him, Leafs fans are doing the exact same thing.
