The massive trade involving Mikko Rantanen has opened speculation about Mitch Marner and theToronto Maple Leafs. I’ve written about how Marner is going to be the next shoe to drop, one way or another.
In my estimation, Marner stays in Toronto as trading him would be exponentially much more difficult than trading Rantanen. As Elliotte Friedman pointed out in the last edition of Saturday Headlines, Marner has a full no-movement clause, whereas Rantanen just had a partial one.
This point is crucial as Marner must agree to any trade the Toronto Maple Leafs come up with. That situation means that Marner has total control over where he goes if a trade is going to be made.
Even if Marner didn't have a full no-movement clause in his contract, it's doubtful the Leafs would trade him given the lousy return Colorado just accepted for their superstar.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the Clock with Mitch Marner
If anything, the Rantanen trade has accelerated the clock around the league. The Vancouver Canucks will not need to figure out what to do with J.T. Miller and Ellias Pettersson soon. The Pittsburgh Penguins will also need to figure out their potential firesale while the New York Islanders may be inclined to move Brock Nelson as soon as possible.
That leaves the Toronto Maple Leafs with Mitch Marner. If I had to bet, I would say that the Leafs and Marner will sit down to figure out a new contract. The Marner has all the leverage because the Leafs waffled and did not address this in the summer.
Marner has a full no-trade clause, the returns for players like him are pennies on the dollar, and the Leafs can't risk losing him for nothing, and he's having a career season, and therefore he has all of the leverage.
The Leafs were always better off re-signing Marner, but knowing that the return for a player of his stature would be terrible, the Leafs will have to be willing to go much higher than maybe there were willing to before.
I wouldn’t be surprised if rumblings emerge over the next week or so, hinting that Marner could sign a new deal to stay in Toronto. They don't really have a choice.
Of course, the possibility of trade is always there, but it was always extremely remote and now that the Leafs know just how badly they'll lose such a trade, it doesn't even make sense to ever try to get him to waive his no-trade protection.