Mitch Marner Spelling Trouble for the Toronto Maple Leafs with His Recent Play
Mitch Marner has been a man-possessed this season and has made life difficult for the Maple Leafs as they try to figure out whether they can re-sign him or not.
Toronto is currently without their captain Auston Matthews as he's been out for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. It hasn't mattered as the Maple Leafs have been on a tear and it's largely thanks to Mitch Marner, who has emerged as the catalyst and leader on the ice in Matthews' absence.
Looking incredibly comfortable without his normal linemate, Marner has shown a new side that we don't often see.
He's shooting more without Matthews and while a lot of praise is heaped on Marner for his playmaking ability, his overtime winner against Edmonton on Saturday was his 200th career goal, and he's averaged 24.25 goals going into this season. Marner also had back-to-back 30-goal seasons, with a career-high 35 in 2021-22.
This means Toronto is in big trouble.
Marner's Going To Make Toronto Pay
Marner's play has not only created a huge buzz around Leafs Nation as the team is riding a wave of success without their captain and Marner is spearheading the charge. The problem is, Marner is a free agent at the end of this season and if he continues his torrid stretch, he's going to command big, big money.
With rumors that Marner could command upwards of $12M in annual value, that's a tough pill to swallow for Toronto especially given they have other pieces to re-sign such as John Tavares and Matthew Knies. Knies is the more intriguing situation as he's an RFA and could field a seriously large offer sheet if Toronto doesn't act quickly.
Tavares is going to stay in Toronto and while he won't sign for a league minimum or anything, he's going to take a significant discount.
The question is, does Toronto move some pieces now and try to lock up Knies and gauge the Marner situation, or do they hope that a long playoff push can convince Marner to stay for the good of everyone?
It's a tough ask considering Marner could make so much money and potentially lead an offense alongside a Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini. That proposition is very enticing to a player like Marner, who has always slightly been in Matthews' shadow and wants to prove he can do the same thing as him.
Toronto running out of time when it comes to several key decisions that can shape their future for years to come. Brad Treliving needs to think long and hard about who he wants to keep around and weigh the potential risks of sinking so much money into one player yet again.
