Don Cherry Sounds The Alarm On Mitch Marner's Future With The Toronto Maple Leafs
Controversial NHL analyst Don Cherry has shifted into the podcast game in recent years and his most recent analysis focuses on Toronto's Mitch Marner's contract.
A lot of the talk around Mitch Marner's future with the Maple Leaf has everyone speculating how much money he is going to make, and if he's going to stick around with the only team he's known, or head off for a big payday in free agency.
But one analyst who believes Marner's future contract is more a negative than positive is the polarizing Don Cherry, who on his recent "Don Cherry's Grapevine Podcast" mentioned that Marner shouldn't be re-signed; even if they make it past round one:
"I would not."Cherry said. "I would be careful to sign him for a big deal if Marner goes for over $14 million. (As the cap goes up) the room might be there."
So with 'Grapes' thinking that Toronto should avoid committing a lot of money to Marner: Does he have a point?
Let's take a look!
Toronto Needs To Avoid Overpaying For Mitch Marner
While it would be great for the Maple Leafs to be able to re-sign Marner, they need to be careful about how they go about the dollar amount.
That pesky internal salary cap is always a factor, and there's speculation he'll make Leon Draisaitl-type money.
That's $14M and a big commitment for a player who has done nothing postseason, but is clearly a big piece of them getting there.
Marner wants to stay in Toronto, but he is also in the prime of his career having arguably his best season ever.
Currently, Marner is making almost $11M a year, and if he continues his current trajectory then unfortunately for Toronto he's starting to look like he deserves a big raise.
In 54 games with the Maple Leafs, Marner has 16 goals and 55 assists while also being the overtime hero for Team Canada during their first game of the 4 Nations Tournament.
If he can prove to the team that he can perform under pressure and have a standout game against the USA in the Finals of the 4 Nations, then it might give Toronto a bit of relief when it comes to committing a huge salary.
But if Marner doesn't show up in the Finals and he doesn't come around when it matters in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; it shouldn't be hard to see that something needs a drastic change yet again.
But they also need to re-sign John Tavares, Matthew Knies, and figure out if any potential trade acquisition is going to be sticking around past April.
It's a lot of moving parts and the days won't go by any slower.
Brad Treliving needs to figure something out fast.
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) plays the puck against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/529741.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) plays the puck against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates with Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/529526.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates with Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) plays the puck against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/529501.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) plays the puck against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
