If the Toronto Maple Leafs needed another reason not to trade Mitch Marner, they got one Friday night when the Vancouver Canucks traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers, ending weeks of speculation. Like the Mikko Rantanen trade, the Canucks got an underwhelming return.
Yes, the Canucks got a first-round pick out of the trade (which they instantly flipped) however, the overall return was underwhelming. The Canucks landed a middle-six center in Filip Chytil and defensive prospect Victor Mancini. In contrast, the Avalanche had to trade Rantanen for a player (Necas) who is about 3 x less impactful.
With two major stars changing teams for largely underwhelming returns, the question begs: How does this trade affect the Toronto Maple Leafs?
In short, the J.T. Miller trade proves the Toronto Maple Leafs have no business trading Mitch Marner. While the Canucks were more desperate to trade Miller than the Canucks were to trade Rantanen, the return did not compensate for the stature of both Miller and Rantanen.
By that reasoning, the Leafs, assuming they could get Marner to waive his NTC, would probably get a couple of mid-round picks, a low-level prospect, and perhaps a top-six roster player in exchange for arguably the second best player in the history of their franchise.
That prospect, quite frankly, makes trading Marner one of the silliest ideas floating around the league at the moment.
Salary cap jump removes barriers for Toronto Maple Leafs to sign Mitch Marner
On Friday, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported that the NHL confirmed to clubs that the salary cap would jump to $95.5 million next season.
That increase is much higher than the $92 million ceiling discussed earlier this season. Moreover, Johnston stated that the cap would jump to $113.5 million ahead of the 2027-28 season.
Those numbers bode well for Marner and the Leafs as they look to settle on a new deal. Unless the Leafs are hellbent on paying Marner less than Auston Matthews, the Leafs are out of excuses to sign Marner. The Leafs will have plenty of cap space to fit Marner’s new contract in, without breaking the bank.
Ultimately, the likelihood of a poor return for Marner, plus the confirmed cap increase means that Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely get a deal done. The Leafs shouldn’t have any trouble fitting Marner’s new contract now, especially if John Tavares walks or takes a team-friendly deal.
If the Leafs cannot get a deal done with Marner now, they had better reassess their priorities. Those priorities should begin with finding a general manager who’s willing to get the job done.