Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas met with Darren Ferris, the agent for Mitch Marner to discuss a contract extension earlier this week, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported on Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines (video link). The two sides were also slated to meet again this weekend.
Despite the talks, Johnston notes that there remains no indication that the winger wants to sign now. The 2019 class of restricted free agents is extremely deep and there is bound to be some form of a waiting game between them instead of looking to be the one to set the market. The 21-year-old is well on his way to surpassing his career high in points and currently sits fifth in league scoring heading into play on Sunday. As a result, it’s going to cost the Maple Leafs a whole lot more than the $832.5K that he’s earning in base salary in 2018-19 on his next deal.
More from around the league:
- Carolina center Jordan Staal is dealing with a head injury, notes Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ team website. The injury kept him out of today’s game against Boston as well. The veteran just returned to the lineup this week after missing five contests due to a concussion so this is clearly some cause for concern. There’s no word yet if he’ll be available to return for their first game back after the holiday break on Thursday.
- While the Canucks want to keep center Adam Gaudette around the team for development purposes, Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston suggests that the rookie will likely be heading back to the AHL when one of winger Sven Baertschi and center Brandon Sutter return to the lineup which is likely to be early next month. Gaudette has averaged just 8:35 of ice time over his past 13 games and while there is some developmental benefit to playing him even in a fourth line role, having him go back to Utica and play twice as much in an offensive role would likely be better for him long-term.