Toronto Maple Leafs rumour: Mitch Marner’s camp doesn’t think team respects them

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner will be the centre of conversation over the next two months as free agency looms

We are now under two months away from the start of NHL free agency, and there’s one unavoidable storyline involving the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into July 1.

With no first-round pick in June’s draft, the focus will solely be on the contract negotiations between the team and star winger Mitch Marner.

Since William Nylander ended his holdout and put pen to paper on a new deal in December, the focus has shifted to Marner, who declined to negotiate with the team during the season.

There’s been speculation that Marner and his camp are looking for a number similar to the $11.6 million annually that Auston Matthews received earlier this season.

On Thursday, Elliotte Friedman talked about the upcoming negotiations and the situation as a whole on the 31 Thoughts Podcast.

"“The highest paid winger in the league is (Patrick) Kane at $10.5. The Leafs don’t want to go there. I think their preference – if they have to – is in the (Mark) Stone, (Nikita) Kucherov range – they’ve signed extensions in the last calendar year at $9.5, although they both live in no tax states,” Friedman said. “I think that they know that this will be around a double-digit number. What I think is that the Maple Leafs are legitimately surprised it’s gotten to this (point).”"

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Friedman added that nothing else will get done on the Leafs until the Marner deal is finished, including agreements for other restricted free agents Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.

The biggest headline to come from Friedman, however, was that Marner’s camp doesn’t believe that they’re respected by the Maple Leafs.

Marner is coming off his best season as a professional, finishing the year with posting a career-high 26 goals and 94 points while featuring in every game. As a result, he can demand a high number and force the Leafs into a corner with restricted free agency around the corner.

As was the case with the Nylander negotiations, Marner has every right to hold out for the money he feels he deserves. His camp clearly thinks he’s the one being forced to draw the short straw out of the Leafs’ top forwards. However, that’s not quite the case.

John Tavares made $11 million in order to come home and play for his favourite team. However, he reportedly left a deal on the table from the San Jose Sharks that would’ve paid him $13 million annually. Nylander was also looking for a deal akin to Leon Draisaitl‘s – which would’ve been about $8 million a year. The two sides landed on a shade under $7 million in the final hour.

The Maple Leafs know how valuable Marner is to the organization. Unfortunately, they have a number they have to stay strong on in order to help get other players signed. The winger has a choice between signing with the team or considering an offer sheet.

On top of his contract in Toronto, Marner has been making heaps of money on the side with sponsorships including Beats By Dre, Visa, Intact Insurance, Azzaro, and GoodFood. He’s also a Red Bull athlete.

He’s one of the most marketable athletes in Toronto and has been treated as such in his first three seasons.

Of course, he could choose to go to try his luck with an offer sheet. He would get the money he was looking for, but he’d also be leaving a top-10 team in the NHL, where he was a key cog.

In that situation, the Leafs would have to consider the compensation of four first-round picks that would be coming the other way in the event that Marner signs an offer sheet that exceeds $10.14 million annually.

The Leafs and Kyle Dubas are going to do everything in their power to ensure that Marner doesn’t get to that point.

We won’t hear the end of this situation until the ink is dried on a new deal. Hopefully, the next piece we write on the matter will be announcing an extension, but we’ll see what happens.