Mitch Marner has gotten this far, and he’ll want to see what the open market might offer him. He’s going to get a huge payday
TSN: Chris Johnston on Toronto Maple Leafs pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner and the odds of him re-signing with the Leafs.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Gino Reda: “Get ready for some big names making big moves for big bucks. CJ, the NHL is ready for the biggest salary cap increase since pre-COVID. Up potentially by $25.5 million dollars over the next three seasons. No bigger name on our list of Top 50 pending UFAs than right at the top, Mitch Marner.
CJ, what are the odds that he re-signs with the Leafs, and if not Toronto? How many teams are realistic landing spots for him?
Johnston: “Well, Mitch Marner didn’t come this far to go just this far, right? I mean, he refused any ability or attempts to negotiate with the Leafs in-season, at least substantially on a new contract extension. Obviously didn’t take management’s request to waive his no-movement clause, and so he did that because he wants to be a free agent in this summer.
NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes, Mitch Marner and Other Free Agents
He wants to look at what the open market will yield out there for him, and I think it will be a massive payday for Mitch Marner. Not only is he coming off a 102-point season, the best in terms of points in his NHL career, but because, as you mentioned, Gino, there’s more money out there in the system.
It’s very rare in the NHL, at least in recent years, that we’ve seen a player of this kind of stature go free on the market. I think it’s extremely, extremely, extremely likely he’ll at least take a peak at free agency, see what’s out there for him and, you know, make a decision that’s best for him and his family.
Now he hasn’t fully closed off a return to Toronto, perhaps you can get sort of a Steven Stamkos 2016, you know, timeline where he did look behind the curtain and still stayed with the Lightning, at that point in time. But I think all signs point to Mitch Marner going free, and, you know, being up for grabs for all 32 teams on July 1st.
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