Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote today that he believes that if Kyle Dubas is retained as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager he will shop star forward Mitch Marner. LeBrun cites Dubas proactively bringing up the Matthew Tkachuk trade in his press conference as a sign that the young Maple Leafs GM is ready to make radical changes to shake up Toronto’s core and he sees Florida’s bold move as a template from which to work from.
LeBrun also goes on to add that he believes Marner is the easiest trade to make from a contractual standpoint. Marner has two years left on his current contract and will not have any no trade protection, while William Nylander and Auston Matthews will receive no trade clauses on July 1st and John Tavares already has a full no move clause. The Maple Leafs could shop Marner to all 31 other teams and drive up a bidding war for the 26-year-old. LeBrun ends his article by stating that should the Leafs trade Marner that they would need a top pairing defenseman in return at a minimum.
In other Maple Leafs notes:
- Pierre LeBrun is of the opinion that any Auston Matthews trade is likely not going to happen as he believes the Maple Leafs will instead focus on extending Matthews when he becomes eligible to sign his next contract on July 1st. LeBrun adds that replacing Matthews would be nearly impossible for Toronto to do and given Matthews track record one would have to agree with him. The five-time 40+ goal scorer struggled at times this season, but still managed to put up 85 points in 74 games. One thing that could be a sticking point is the cap hit that Matthews will be looking for on his next long-term deal.
- Pierre LeBrun also discussed Toronto assistant coach Spencer Carbery saying that he believes Carbery’s old team the Washington Capitals have already asked the Toronto Maple Leafs for permission to interview him about their vacant head coaching position. Neither Washington nor Toronto would confirm LeBrun’s hunch that the Capitals are looking to have a reunion with the one-time head coach of their AHL affiliate. Washington have also looked at Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern as a candidate.
Dabble Marner out there and I’d like to see the Rangers do something.
the Leafs are in a tough spot. of the 3 10+ men, Tavares won’t leave, Austin’s 40+ is hard to replace but Marner may have the. best all around game of the 3.
his over confidence with the puck however cost them a few goals and may be why he could be the one to go.
while many criticize him for the contract, many fanbases would Love to see him suit up for them. a playmaker who can kill penalties and play on the powerplay.
Trade your leading scorer that makes a ton of sense the only reason Mathews hit 60 is he is playing with who? This seas on Mathews had a slow start because he wasn’t playing with who? He is the best player on team probably top 3 in the league shame on you lebrun
LOL. Auston Matthews is a better hockey player than Marner. You don’t trade a 25 year old who just recently won a Hart trophy if he’s willing to sign an extension.
Marner is too small and his lack of size was badly exposed against Florida. He would be the one to trade out of the four if a move is going to be made.
As for Marner being a top 3 player in the league? That was a joke right? Or was it homerism?
If Matthews won’t sign an extension before July 1 then call LA and see what young talent you could poach from them. If Matthews does sign before July 1 then shop Marner.
First off I don’t for one minute think that Mathews should be traded he is a generational player as is marner Mathews doesn’t win the hart without marner look at the stats
Yeah but generational talent doesn’t need someone else to boost there stats. They boost the team not the other way around
Lack of size was badly exposed? He was better in the series than Taveras and Matthews, both guys better than him. Nylander (also small in comparison to AM) was even better.
Size is not why the Leafs lost that series. it was a lack of heart in game 1, period 2 of game 2, and OT of game 3
Generational talent is a word thrown around to easily these days. I see 3 players and generational talent in the league. McDavid, Mackinnon and Crosby (who’s not quite there anymore) but thats it for me. Matthews is a great player but is he really able to generate offense on his own? I don’t think so and the playoffs only proved that to me as he was a non factor most shifts
You seem to have left out Kane. If you included Mac you might want to compare their stats and reconsider.
Yeah ok I agree you could make a case for Kane
Marner and mathews are your main core,tavares is a good player but not a leader he will have to stay because of his contract that leaves Nylander who is a good player but not what the leafs need he doesn’t go in the corners is more of a cherry picker his heart is not in Toronto and he showed that by hopping on a plane heading off to play hockey for sweden .mathews expressed his desire to stay with the leafs and that should answer any questions as to where his loyalty lies not like gaudreau or Tkachuk bolting for the states at the first opportunity
Double eye roll! LOL
I don’t think Nylanders heart is not in Toronto because he went to play for Sweden in the world championship. The 2 are unrelated, and I would hope he would always love Sweden more then he loves toronto. Most players love to play for there country of origin.
Matthews did not commit to toronto, he said his intention is to re-sign with the team, but thats a standard response we as fans have seen a 100 times now, like gaudreau did last season, gaudreau said all the right things to the press before he walked. Matthews could easily stall signing til the July 1st amd then tell us he doesn’t plan to re-sign and walk away for nothing. Leafs need to be prepared for that scenario and have a plan b
Yes trade away the only forward that has shown up to play in every playoff series. That makes a lot of sense.
Mitch for Timo + 1st! Sign Timo for 7 x $8.25
I could go for that.
if it’s going to happen, Trade Marner and sign P. Kane to a 3yrx$5.0 million.
Kane replaces Marner with Matthews (if AM signs long-term) and leafs can get a 1st pairing D in a Marner trade plus a young prospect.
Then they look at moving Brodie and Muzzin’s contract
Yeah I dont want Kane at all lol like the idea of a player of that mold but I would prefer someone a little less “seasoned” lol
The Panthers ran over the Leafs at will all series. Just look at the ending of game 4. Tkachuk is giving Marner the business and Marner doesn’t even attempt to stand up for himself. That was a microcosm of the series as a whole. There was also no response to that in game 5.
If heart is the problem then who is that on? Marner is part of the problem. This core has had seven years and has improved by a whole 2 playoff wins in that time. This core isn’t good enough to win a cup. Big changes needed.
In another season when the flat cap ends Marner will be easier to trade. This off-season? The Leafs will be forced to take back up to 2 bad contracts. The acquiring team will not pay a franchise altering sum if it’s 50/50 on him staying beyond 2 years.
The Leafs won’t have to take back 2 bad contracts. that’s just ridiculous. Marner’s contract is not an albatross. He plays more like a 8-9 million $ player sure but that contract also doesn’t have a ton of term left.
plus waiting till next off-season means you cut the number of teams down to whatever he wants. you lose a TON of leverage and a team only has him for one season before FA if you trade him next off-season.
If Marner is the guy to go, it has to be this off-season before July 1.
Marner for vasilevskiy straight up
Hypothetical
Caulfield, Anderson, Savard for Marner, Robertson, Liljegren, Kallgren and Murray’s contract with part retained.
Marner, Lafferty and Liljegren to DET for Seider, DET 1st in 2023 and Rasmussen. Lil can play RD with countryman Edvinsson.
Red Wings are not moving Seider in that deal.
That good? What if you also get TOR 1St pick in 2023 back? Or would switching Marner for Nylander make it better? Lower cap hit helps for the future.
Seider is a dman who plays a more important position than Marner. He’s also younger and has more years of team control. He’s pretty much untouchable on that team.
the wings finished 25th in goals scored. I think you underestimate their need for an offensive player.
I’m well aware of the Wings struggles. You don’t give up a young, controllable, talented D for a winger who is making $11 mil, could bolt in 2 years and struggles in the playoffs.
If Marner hits the trade block then I’d imagine the Wings would have interest but Seider would not be going the other way if a trade is made between them.
Don’t forget marner is and has been brutal in the playoffs every year that’s going to be a tough selling point for some gm’s that are interested
so has Matthews, are you saying the Leafs can’t find interest?
No team is taking matthews for one year unless they can guarantee they will sign him same with nylander hence depleting the return with marner having 2 years leafs he will get the best return
you said Marner would be a tough sell now saying he will get the best return and no one will trade for AM or Nylander. Are you serious?
You clearly don’t understand what I’m saying……….they could all get traded except Tavares but the teams that nylander and matthews will go to will want an extension lowering the amount of teams to trade with. And let’s be honest marner has been a ghost in every playoff series especially when the game is on the line. Teams will look at that and offer less. I still have no idea why they were given so much money so soon without seeing what they could do in the playoffs especially when players after were taking less look at drasaitl 8.5 million best contract in the league and it’s not close
Heard Tyler Myers is available he is a big guy … reminds me of Big Z