Another Reason for the Toronto Maple Leafs to Keep Mitch Marner
After another early playoff exit, the entire hockey world is wondering what the Leafs are going to do with their "core-four" group of players. It's no secret that Mitch Marner's name has been all over the trade block, but the Leafs might be better off keeping him.
It's no secret that Mitch Marner's name has been on everyone's offseason trade list, even though the Stanley Cup Playoffs are still going on.
Many Toronto Maple Leafs fans are tired of the constant early playoff exits, with the team now failing to win more than five playoff games for eight consecutive years.
With all the disappointments, many fans (rightfully) are demanding a massive change to the team's roster, with Marner's name being the most common one thrown around.
With that being said, however, I believe the Toronto Maple Leafs are better off keeping him around for at least one more season, and here's why.
Another Reason for the Toronto Maple Leafs to Keep Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner is entering the final year of his contract, and we've seen players time and time again put out career seasons in their last year before coming UFAs.
Whether that be former Leafs player Nazem Kadri, or a more recent example in Sam Reinhart.
Another great example of this is William Nylander, who put out his best year yet just this past season. Nylander tallied a career-best 98 points in his contract year, earning an 8-year extension with the team.
There's no reason Marner can't do the same.
We've seen former Leafs players move on from Toronto to have massive success somewhere else, including the previously mentioned Kadri, along with Zach Hyman, Frederick Andersen, or even Phil Kessel, just to name a few.
Trading any quality player away is always a risk, but trading a superstar like Mitch Marner is exceptionally risky for many reasons.
If the Leafs do decide to trade him, there's always a risk of their return not matching what they gave away (in this case, Marner). On top of the risk that Marner could have his best season ever on a new squad in his contract year.
Either way, I would prefer the Leafs keep Marner for at least one more year. They've already made a big change to the team when they hired Craig Berube, and with some upgrades to the defense group, the team may be closer to a deep playoff run than most people think.
Nevertheless, I think Mitch Marner is a huge part of this team and deserves to stay, but if they to decide to move him, Brad Treliving better hit a home run.
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We'll see what happens as the summer moves along.