Toronto Maple Leafs cannot afford to re-sign Mitch Marner, nor should they want to

Remember when Toronto Maple Leafs fans wanted to drive Mitch Marner to the airport after last year's playoff results? Well, things have drastically changed after 20 games this year.

I can't remember a player that has been as polarizing as Mitch Marner over the past decade. Maybe it's Phil Kessel, but Marner is way better than Kessel ever was, yet Toronto Maple Leafs fans still love him or hate him. You're really not going to find a fan that's in the middle when it comes to Marner fandom and I get it.

I change my mind on Marner more than my girlfriend changes her mind on what to wear when we go out. He drives us nuts in the playoffs when the ice gets smaller and he can't dipsy-doodle his way onto the scoresheet, but during the regular season, he's arguably a top-five player in the world.

Marner is not only elite offensively, but defensively he's incredible. He plays top-line penalty-kill and his ability to get his stick in the way of passes makes him one of the best two-way players in the league.

With Auston Matthews out of the line-up, Marner has also shined and clearly the best player on the team, but what happens with Matthews comes back? Will Marner revert back to his slow start or will he be able to continue this hot-streak?

For someone who scores at an 100-point pace every year and is strong defensively, Marner should be one of the highest paid players in the NHL. His current $10.93M AAV contract already ranks him in the top percentile, but with the salary-cap projected to rise as high as $97M, Marner's bound to get a pay-raise this summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs cannot afford to pay Marner, nor should they

So, realistically what is Marner projected to make? With Auston Matthews locked into a $13.25M contract, I find it hard for the Leafs to sign him to anything more than that, but who's to say that another team won't offer him that on the open-market?

If you have some cap-space, why wouldn't you offer Marner a $14-15M deal and make him the highest paid player in the NHL? As mentioned, the salary cap is going up, so a $14M deal today will be comparable to a $9-10M deal of today, so it's possible that Marner becomes the highest paid player in the league.

So with that being said, the Leafs cannot afford to, nor should they, sign Marner to a monster deal, unless the team wins the Stanley Cup. If he can prove to this organization that he's a top playoff performer, then back the Brinks Truck up and give him however much he wants.

However, if this team once again falters in the playoffs, they need to shake it up. This team already has three offensive superstars, which is great, but they need a goaltender or defensive superstar alongside that. If that means sacrificing Marner to get a top-tier defenseman, then I say you do it in a heartbeat.

But as of right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not going to be able to afford to pay Marner, and that's OK.