Darren Dreger Breaks Down Mitch Marner's Trade Potential Following Mikko Rantanen Blockbuster
TSN Insider and NHL Analyst Darren Dreger broke down why Mitch Marner's situation is different than Mikko Rantanen, and what it means for Toronto.
The blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to Carolina was one that sent shockwaves through the NHL, setting in motion the first domino to fall in what will be an exciting and highly anticipated trade deadline on March 7.
But Toronto also needs to worry about Mitch Marner's future and with how Rantanen found himself on the outs because of contract issues, the Maple Leafs are facing the same situation so could he be the next superstar on the move?
TSN Insider Darren Dreger believes that only will Marner not be traded, but could be already looking at an extension.
Darren Dreger Breaks Down Mitch Marner Trade And Contract Situation
Speaking on TSN1050's FirstUp, Dreger had a detailed breakdown as to why Marner's situation looks similar to Ratanen on paper, but in reality there are a lot of external factors that make things a lot different:
There's no clear answer. Sure, you could point to teams like Florida or Vegas, but it's not even guaranteed they'll be serious contenders by the trade deadline. So, it just doesn't feel like a trade is likely.
The bigger factor is that Toronto wants to keep Marner, and it's pretty obvious he wants to stay and spend his career as a Leaf. The only real holdup is the business side of things. If Marner decided today that he wanted to sit down with Brad Treliving and get a deal started, they'd jump on it right away."
Marner has already stated that he doesn't want to talk about a contract and will let things happen as they happen, although there are also reports that Toronto is going to refuse to pay him as much as Auston Matthews; a tough situation to navigate.
This wasn't just a simple trade to shore up some depth; Carolina acquired one of the NHL's best forwards, as well as a veteran in Taylor Hall, and the value attached to the name has a lot to do with why this trade feels so monumental; even more than it already is.
If Elias Pettersson had been moved to Carolina, we wouldn't be having the same level of discussion. A lot of this also ties into Mikko Rantanen, who's a pending UFA. While there are some similarities between the two players, there are also some pretty clear differences that make this a unique situation."
While Pettersson is a great player no doubt, Rantanen has been one of the NHL's most consistent and explosive players over the past few seasons. But so is Marner, and the pressure to get a deal done is even heavier given the trade.
There's rumors that he's going to command anywhere from $13-14M per season, and there are several teams with a large amount of cap space willing to throw sacks of cash at the Leafs winger.
If the Leafs are worried about an internal cap, offering Marner an eight-year deal at $12.95M gives him a total of $103.6M in addition to the $65M he's earned already.
The difference of $250,000 isn't that much money all things considered, especially when we are talking about tens of millions of dollars, and Marner having the chance to not only win this year, but potentially multiple times and etch his name among the team legends; that's almost priceless.
If that much money is a difference maker for Marner, then his passion and love for the Maple Leafs isn't as loud as fans thought. But if the superstar winger wanted to do them right, he'd re-sign with the team and help bring glory back to Toronto for the next eight years.
