Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Mitch Marner?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are faced with a flat cap in the upcoming seasons.

This has prompted a collection of Toronto Maple Leafs to lose their collective minds.

Already mistakenly under the impression that the Leafs were wrong to devote a large portion of their salary cap money to just four players,  some Leafs fans have apparently lost their minds.

So, should the Leafs trade Mitch Marner?

No. Absolutely not.  Not for anything, not under any circumstances, no way, sorry, terrible idea  Not happening. Thank-you. Good night.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner

Here are some helpful rules about elite players:

You build around them.

Whoever has the most of them has the best chance to win.

One elite player is always better than the same amount of mid-range players equaling the same salary.

Whoever gets the best player in a trade always wins.

You can never overpay an elite player.

So, obviously, Mitch Marner is not getting traded.

Sure, he makes a lot of money, but the fact is, you couldn’t move him and then re-spend his salary in a better way.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to clear some salary cap room, they wouldn’t need to move Mitch Marner to do it.

If the Leafs needed money, they could move the $11 million combined that Alex Kerfoot (least likely to be moved) Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen (most likely to be moved).

If the Leafs had to trade all three of those guys for prospects, but kept Marner, they’d be better off than keeping all three and moving Marner.

That is an indisputable fact.   Marner scored 94 points as a 22 year old and that gives him about a 98% chance of one day being in the hall of fame.

Marner is one of the four or five best players the Toronto Maple Leafs have had in the last 50 years.   In fact, if the Islanders had re-signed John Tavaresa and the Leafs failed to win the 2016 draft lottery, Mitch Marner would be second only to Mats Sundin since 1980.

And he’s likely better than Sittler, McDonald and Salming, so we are taking a about a player who is rare….like, once or twice in 50 years rate.

Oh and he’s from Toronto, he’s a home town kid, he’s got a great personality and his potential is Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner.

He’s a role-model to children, and he’s a great ambassador for the team, city and game.

And or anyone who thinks he’s overpaid, I can remember a time recently when pretty much everyone in the NHL agreed that Leon Draisait’s contract was a massive error.

I’ve seen Leafs Nation fail to embrace Brian McCabe, Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner and William Nylander.   I’ve seen them turn up their nose at the best young GM in the game rather than reconsider that what Don Cherry preached was actually not the truth.

But I’ve never been so flabbergasted at anything Leafs Nation has embraced as the idea to trade Mitch Marner.

Mitch Marner is the franchise.  He is  untouchable, and he isn’t getting traded.

Bad idea.