The Toronto Maple Leafs, allegedly, will have a busy summer fending of offer sheets for Mitch Marner.
Stop the presses, Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner is targeted for offer sheets this summer, or so we’re told. Wait, this is hardly news. To an extent, this is recycled news. It’s something that keeps the media going, something that is always “talked about” when a team needs to resign a talented RFA, especially when its the Toronto Maple Leafs
In a lesser extent, William Nylander was supposedly targeted as well and as we all now know; it did not happen.
It didn’t happen then, it will not happen now.
Mitch Marner is a hometown kid living out his childhood dream, he won’t risk that by signing an offer sheet, so why bother offering it at all?
Sure, attempting to break up the young and talented core of your competition while strengthening your own makes sense. But wouldn’t Auston Matthews be the obvious and more logical choice to target? Unlike Marner, his roots with Toronto are far more superficial.
Potential Suitors?
So, just for the heck of it, let’s assume there is truth to these rumors, somewhere a GM is planning a move, one that is frowned upon by every GM in the business. He’s preparing to offer Mitch Marner sheet, something that’s much more difficult than it sounds. It has to be more than Dubas is willing or can pay and it has to fit under the team’s cap hit that’s offering.
Not to mention it has to be at least tempting for Marner to trade in Toronto. There aren’t many teams with a roster so talented and exciting to play for as the Toronto Maple Leafs. Take that as your starting point, which teams remain?
The Winnipeg Jets, the Tampa Bay Lightning?
From those two teams, only the Jets have the projected cap space going into the 2019 – 2020 season with a projected cap space of $23,130,836. From that cap space, they need to resign Patrik Laine, Kyle Conner, and Jacob Trouba. That doesn’t leave much room, if any, to offer Mitch Marner sheet.
“We can, and we will”
Should there be a GM preparing to offer sheets, take a break from work, you’re being delusional. To think you can lure away Mitch Marner for some lousy extra few bucks on top of what is already going to be a ridiculously amount of money, to join a likely lesser talented roster.
"“We can, and we will. All three of them will be a big part of it as we move ahead.”"
Need I say more?
Kyle Dubas has not given us any reason to doubt the process moving forward. So far he brought Tavares to Toronto, whilst his former mentor could not keep him in New York, signed William Nylander to what is nothing less than a steal of a contract and he brought in the coveted top-pairing defenseman without losing a core piece.
So everyone just take a chill pill and mark my words; Mitch Marner will be a lifelong Toronto Maple Leaf.