By all accounts, it sounds like the Toronto Maple Leafs have been trying to sign Mitch Marner to a long-term contract, but that he's still unwilling to accept it.
With a full no-move clause, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at a standstill with Marner and he may up hurting the future of this franchise for multiple reasons. Reports are that the Carolina Hurricanes had originally asked for Marner, during their conversations about acquiring Mikko Rantanen, and when the Leafs asked him to waive his NMC, Marner shut it down.
Since he has that clause, Marner has the luxury of staying in Toronto and as a pending free agent, he'll also have the freedom of choosing the best situation this offseason. The Leafs haven't been shy about wanting to keep Marner, yet for some reason he hasn't accepted a contract.
As a local kid, Marner has continued to say how much he loves Toronto and wants to be here long-term, and although it sounds like the team has offered him a contract around $13M AAV, that isn't enough to keep him happy.
Although this isn't quite the same situation as the one we saw with Mats Sundin years back, there are some comparables. When Sundin was a pending UFA, he also had a no-trade clause, but he was nearing retirement. The Leafs wanted to trade him to acquire draft picks, prospects and/or current players to help the future, but Sundin said no.
Sundin prefered to ride out the season in Toronto, before ultimately joining the Vancouver Canucks the next season to chase a Stanley Cup. Spoiler Alert: That did not happen. Not only did the Leafs lose their captain, but they didn't get anything in return, which somewhat feels like where we're heading with Marner.
Mitch Marner Should Have Waived His No-Trade Clause
I change my mind on Marner seemingly everyday, but as of right now, I'm really upset with how this situation played out. When you give a player a no-trade clause, you are giving the player all the power so it's unfortunately out of your control, and if Marner ends up leaving in free agency, this will be a huge loss.
It's possible that the Leafs could have acquired Rantanen and then also locked him up for eight years, but now, it feels like Toronto is going to end up losing Marner without replacing him.
When Mats Sundin refused to waive his no-trade clause, fans were outraged and there was a ton of backlash, despite him being one of the best Leafs of all-time. It's funny how quickly we change our minds on a player we love, especially when we get upset that they want to stay. It's hard enough to acquire great talent, so we should never be mad about a player wanting to play in Toronto, but in these situations, we lose our minds because we find it selfish that the individual doesn't want to help the future of the organization.
Marner is an amazing talent, but I think the fanbase is getting ready for a change and would have liked that change to be Mikko Rantanen. Maybe he'll finally take over a playoff series and be the best player on the ice, but even the most optimistic Leafs fan wouldn't bet on that.
If this team loses in the First Round once again and Marner walks in free agency, we'll be looking back at Marner's decision as one of the worst in franchise history and all of the love we gave him for 10 years will be gone.