SUNRISE, Fla. — There are no plans to ask Mitch Marner to waive the no-trade arrangement on his contract with the Maple Leafs. But that doesn’t mean the Leafs don’t have serious interest in dealing Marner, possibly closer to the NHL draft or into the summer.
Here’s the plan, much as there is one: The Leafs have basically let it be known in the hockey world they are in trade mode. Just about anyone and everyone is for sale except for Auston Matthews and William Nylander. The idea, according to those close to general manager Brad Treliving, is to build a Leafs team that can be more competitive come playoff time — better and tougher to play against — both stronger defensively and steadier in goal.
It’s a tall order for the GM, considering the Florida Panthers are playing for the Stanley Cup for the second straight year and Tampa was in the Cup final the three years prior to that. If the Leafs want to go deeper in the playoffs, the road goes through Florida, Tampa and Boston, teams they’ve struggled with in the past. The NHL knows it’s open season on Marner offers.
How often is a 95-point, penalty-killing winger available? The Leafs won’t put the cart before the horse here. They will listen. If one of the offers meets their needs, then — and only then — will they involve Marner in the process and try to convince him why it’s in his best interest to look elsewhere.
If no deal for Marner can be completed — or he doesn’t allow one — it makes next seas.