All signs point to Mitch Marner leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2015. Marner, from the GTA, has reportedly ignored the Leafs' requests about a potential contract to stay in Toronto.
The most recent turn of events has increased the speculation that the relationship between the star right winger and the team has soured beyond repair.
It wasn't that long ago that Marner professed his love for his hometown team and that he wanted to stay. Multiple playoff disappointments by the team, as well as Marner's postseason struggles, combined with the Leafs' general manager, Brad Treliving, approaching him during the most recent NHL Trade deadline about waiving his no-movement clause, have altered the landscape.
Marner became the poster boy for all that was wrong with the Maple Leafs after the first-round exit to the Boston Bruins during the 2023-2024 playoffs. The Game 5 and Game 7 home-ice debacles of this year's second-round loss to the Florida Panthers were further evidence that change was needed. The impending free agency of the 100-point winger, combined with his recent spurning of the Leafs' calls, gives Treliving freedom to shape the roster further.
Marner rejecting the Maple Leafs is great news for Brad Treliving
Treliving had limited opportunity to reconstruct the Maple Leafs roster when he was hired a month before NHL free agency in 2023. At the time, the most pressing need for Toronto was getting stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander signed to contract extensions. Within months of each other, Treliving got both to sign long-term deals.
After a season of observation, including that first-round loss to the Bruins, Treliving went to work revamping the Leafs' defense and goaltending. Free agent acquisitions Chris Tanev and Anthony Stolarz, and another Treliving extension recipient, Joseph Woll, helped lead the Maple Leafs to the Atlantic Division title in 2024-2025. He also hired his coach, Craig Berube. Most would approve of Treliving's renovations.
Marner's apparent rejection allows Treliving to change his group of forwards to his and Berube's preference. Marner's disinterest in contract talks also gives the Leafs' GM an out with the team's fan base. Should the winger star elsewhere, Treliving can point to Marner's declining of the team's overtures.
The NHL's increase in the salary cap, plus Marner's and John Tavares' expiring contracts, allows Treliving and Berube to begin reconfiguring the forward units. Trades or looking elsewhere in free agency, either this summer or the loaded UFA class of 2026, are greater possibilities with Marner's exit.
Some of that money earmarked for a Marner contract can be used to extend restricted free agent Matthew Knies or for a Tavares return at a lesser AAV.
What Treliving can't do is overspend on marginal players, regardless of the salary cap increase. He needs to look no further than some of his mistakes, such as deals for David Kampf, Ryan Reaves, and, to a lesser extent, Max Domi.
Treliving must take advantage of Marner's dismissal of the Maple Leafs' offers and put his and Berube's imprint on the team's forwards. Treliving's "DNA" change starts with the departure of Marner. It gives the GM the chance to finally mold a championship roster.