Multiple Teams Will Be In On Marner
The Leafs now have a pecking order based on the extensions signed by Matthews and Nylander. Matthews is the best pure goal-scorer in the NHL and the Maple Leafs best player. His contract carries an AAV of $13.25 million.
Nylander has an AAV of $11.5 million and his production has continued to ascend for the last three full seasons he has played, twice hitting the forty-goal mark.
Both Matthews and Nylander alternated carrying the Leafs throughout the 2023-2024 season. Marner was the third-best player on the team, even before his late-season injury. He didn't affect the outcomes of games nearly as often as Matthews or Nylander.
That carried over into the playoffs when Matthews and Nylander each single-handedly won a game for the Leafs. Marner, rightly or wrongly, bore the brunt of the criticism for another playoff defeat.
To reward Marner with an extension would be a public relations disaster for the Leafs, unless it were for an amount less than Matthews and Nylander. That would be bad business for the player.
Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving even seems lukewarm on the possibility of a Marner extension. Put together, the extensions of Matthews and Nylander plus Marner's third-string status from last season, a new contract for Marner from Toronto is not going to approach what awaits on the open market next summer.
Marner and his agent are well aware of this. A 100-point plus season and teams will be lining up for his services. Even an 85-95 point season (an average year for Marner) will still result in maximum-term offers of more than what the Leafs will likely propose.
Many prime years are still ahead for Marner, a proven 90-100 point producer who can play on both special teams. Ferris should expect to be busy with multiple teams inquiring about the star right-winger's services come July 1st next year.