Mitch Marner has already decided he is not returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs, if we are to believe recent reports. Could he possibly sign as a free agent with the Leafs' archrival? Maybe.
While it might just be a thought experiment or some sort of twisted joke, there have been recent discussions and talks for content about the possibility of Marner signing with the Ottawa Senators this summer. In true turncoat fashion, Marner would give up on the Blue and White to only go and maybe be that final piece of the puzzle for a Senators team that has spent almost a decade rebuilding.
Some people have gone as far to say that the Senators are a "dark horse" in the race for Marner's signature on July 1.
It feels too impossible to imagine, but it can certainly happen if the Senators and Marner were committed to going forward with each other. Ottawa has just over $15 million cap space with the need to sign at least four more forwards and one backup goaltender. With recent rumors that Marner could demand a contract that has a cap hit of upwards of a $14 million AAV, or above, it does seem unlikely and a little stupid.
But, let's say that Marner really wants to stay in Ontario and the Senators just need to make one trade of someone like Drake Batherson, Nick Jensen, or Artem Zub to make it happen. It suddenly becomes more and more possible and more and more of a nightmare for every single Leafs fan.
Suddenly, the little brother that is the Senators to the big brother Maple Leafs, would get to be friends with one of the big brother's cooler and more successful friends. With just one signature, more and more start taking that little brother seriously and we have to sit and watch them start to possibly find more and more success together. Maybe this analogy has gone off the rails, but it would cause so much disruption in the psyche of Leafs fans that we just don't even want to start thinking about it.
It would be the massive splash that the Senators do need to push into more regular playoff appearances. And with such a young core of players, that would mean a pretty lengthy window for them to win a whole lot more than they currently are. Generally, no one wants to see that.
This move would elevate the rivalry into unprecedented importance. Of course we have had otherworldly games and playoff series between these two teams in the past, but we haven't seen a star leave one for the other to really take it to a different level.
It's too impossible to even begin to take seriously, but if Marner signing in Ottawa does happen, we all know that it would cause so much pain even before the puck is dropped.