Friedman: Don't be surprised if the Marner situation plays out over the season

[Commander Clueless]

Just fold the franchise.

Too "emotional"? Buddy, at this point even Treebeard and the Ents are wondering what the hold up is in making changes to this team.

 

[These Are The Days]

Oh for f***'s sake. So they're just gonna keep dragging this out? They haven't fixed a thing and weren't serious at all this time

Shanahan at this point

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Marner holds all the cards. Agajn Dubas/Shanahan not getting 8 years for Marner on close to 11M cap hit for a RFA is the mistake here. One year left on Marner before he can hit UFA. Good luck getting value back. He’s a good player that is this summer’s leafs scapegoat. Sound like a broken record, Dubas has left Trevling a mess to clean up. Not sure he can.

 

[Bond]

They probably won't get a return that justifies removing Marner from the roster and they can't really justify making the team worse in the offseason. It is a pretty small list of where Marner will waive, the acquiring team has the cap space, and would be willing to part with a player that improves the roster.

 

[HockeyVirus]

First of all, Shanahan needs to be fired.

Second of all, I don't even care if Marner walks. If he is going to try and get 13-14M out of the Leafs, I personally think he is more of a 9-10 player and I think the Leafs are better off letting him leave and using his and Tavares cap space to address other holes.

I fully expect Marner to leave and figure it out elsewhere and people to try and clown on the Leafs, but he is not figuring it out in Toronto. Another wasted season

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

You're going to lose any Marner trade if you're the Leafs, hes a helluva player and elite players are hard to come by.

Teams are probably low balling them thinking they can get a top player for peanuts.

You lose a trade even worse by letting a guy walk to free agency.

 

[Kurtz]

Lol let's run it back one more time this is the time we're truly Stanley cup contenders mentality is gonna cave that franchise.

That and a coaching change worked for Edmonton...

You lose a trade even worse by letting a guy walk to free agency.

You keep your star player for another year and if he leaves, you gain $11m in cap room.

If that's the worst possible outcome, it's not all that bad.

 

[FlappyGiraffe]

Jack Eichel was traded with a nmc,coming off serious neck surgery and a caphit of 10+
Marner we can retain on Mitch or have a third team.
Its not impossible and could end just as bad for Mitch as the Leafs

He also had several years remaining on his deal and plays center. I think there would be less suitors for Mitch

 

[HFpapi]

I'm fine with keeping him. It's frustrating his most recent playoff performance but it's dumb to think a 100 (ok 99) point player with a Selke nom is never going to be capable of a good playoff performance. Also, he has a 0.87 career playoff PPG. You' d think it was 0.3 by the way people talk.

I'd rather run it back and trust Marner to get it together than to press the panic button and do something supremely dumb like trade him for Seth Jones or Hronek like some suggested.

 

[ManofSteel55]

They're going to lose him to free agency, aren't they?

 

[Rec T]

This is supposed to be news/insightful?

No team, IF he's even willing to waive, will do anything before July 1 when his $10 million payment is due. And even with that payment, his caphit is such that no contender that he might be willing to waive to will have the space to fit him in (even with retention) until much later in the season...at which point he doesn't bring much back in trade more than likely. Or the Leafs can keep/play him for the season & hope that he actually brings something to the playoffs this time around & let him walk for free at the end of it (assuming that they don't offer him a huge contract...which after all would very much be a Leafs thing to do...).

The best that the Leafs can probably hope for is that MM is willing to waive to go to a rebuilding team who want to sign him to a contract after the trade. But that brings up the other big issue...he's likely going to insist on a bigger salary than his already inflated one. And those teams that are rebuilding and at least a couple of years from competing aren't going to want to pay that much for the privilege of screwing up their draft odds (by allllmossst missing the playoffs due to his production & not being a bottom feeder without him). And on top of that many of the rebuilding teams won't want him/his new contract messing up their own salary negotiations with their own 'core' group that they've been assembling ("How come he makes that much & only does 'x'. I do 80% of 'x' & you're only offering me 60% of what he makes... FU, trade me...").

Watching this situation play out should be fairly amusing for the other 30 teams (one might be cursing their luck that he's willing to go there...)

 

[ManofSteel55]

Jack Eichel was traded with a nmc,coming off serious neck surgery and a caphit of 10+
Marner we can retain on Mitch or have a third team.
Its not impossible and could end just as bad for Mitch as the Leafs

How? He basically holds all the cards - he stays if he wants to, he goes if he wants to, and he signs wherever he wants for whatever their best offer is next summer.

 

[Canovin]

I'd rather that then trade him for magic beans

Leafs can get a 1st and 2nd rounders for Marner very easily. That's better than nothing

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

That and a coaching change worked for Edmonton...



You keep your star player for another year and if he leaves, you gain $11m in cap room.

If that's the worst possible outcome, it's not all that bad.

I'm sure NYI fans felt reassured knowing they kept Tavares at the deadline and then gained 5.5m in cap room.

 

[Superlative Soup]

Toronto media gotta be licking their chops

 

[Suntouchable13]

I'm fine with keeping him. It's frustrating his most recent playoff performance but it's dumb to think a 100 (ok 99) point player with a Selke nom is never going to be capable of a good playoff performance. Also, he has a 0.87 career playoff PPG. You' d think it was 0.3 by the way people talk.

I'd rather run it back and trust Marner to get it together than to press the panic button and do something supremely dumb like trade him for Seth Jones or Hronek like some suggested.

I am so sick of this mentality. 8 years we’ve been saying the same thing. At some point, patience has ran thin. Sorry, I don’t trust him whatsoever. If the core stays, no matter what happens, it’s another wasted year. Berube doesn't do shit to move the needle.

Sometimes addition by subtraction works better. How did the Isles all of a sudden go on playoff runs after losing JT for nothing? Here, at least we can get something if brain dead management can convince him to waive.

 

[BCNate]

It's closer to 20 million because you are including players like Cade Webber and Conor Timmins, who baring the defense core being COMPLETELY gutted by injury will not be on the roster

Sure, you can take them out, but then you need to replace them. They are 2 of the 5 D on the books currently.

 

[HFpapi]

They probably won't get a return that justifies removing Marner from the roster and they can't really justify making the team worse in the offseason. It is a pretty small list of where Marner will waive, the acquiring team has the cap space, and would be willing to part with a player that improves the roster.

Exactly. I don't see many (any) Marner trades where the Leafs get better. He's an elite player whether people like it or not and seems like everyone wants us to trade him just on principal. Who are we trading him for that makes us better?

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

Leaf Nation's attempt to drive him out of Toronto through intimidation tactics has been beyond disgusting.

Marner knows he holds the cards and is going to get his retribution by forcing the Leafs to run it back, fold in the playoffs as usual, and then walk for nothing next season.

 

[Kurtz]

I'm sure NYI fans felt reassured knowing they kept Tavares at the deadline and then gained 5.5m in cap room.

The fans were quite bitter about it, but the team did ok the following few years. Plus with Marner, you're getting twice the cap room.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

On the June 2nd 32 thoughts podcast Friedman said don't be surprised if the Marner situation plays out over the season, he said that the Leafs don't want to make another deal based on emotion like they did with Kadri.

He said that as of June 2nd he wasn't sure Marner was getting traded.

I'm good with him coming back if that's how it works out.

I'm not against a core change like I have been in the past, but at the same time, I'm not looking to push him out the lineup either, you only move him if it makes sense, and it only makes sense if you can get REAL assets back and no I'm not talking about picks, and prospects and futures, those aren't real assets, those are magic beans, I'm not interested in magic beans.

If Marner is traded you need players, and they need to be good players, Marner is a 90+ point player, you can't trade him for magic beans that you HOPE grow into somebody as good or better than Marner

The "deal based on emotion" seems like the most revisionist reframing of a deal of all time. It was a shyte deal for TOR, but they didn't it wasn't because it was a "based on emotion". Kadri killed the team 2 years in a row with undisciplined play in the P/O's. The fact that they made a bad deal with COL had nothing to do with emotion. (It should be noted that Kadri then killed his new team in the P/O's with more undisciplined play before the Avs won their Cup.)

The Kadri/Barrie deal had nothing to do with emotion, and everything with just making a bad deal. That deal occurred about 3 months after the Leafs got booted in the 1st round. It wasn't an "off-the-cuff" type of trade. The deal is being panned because Barrie part of the deal didn't work out. It should also be noted that because COL retained half on Barrie - it opened up more cap space for the Leafs to make other deals.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Leaf Nation's attempt to drive him out of Toronto through intimidation tactics has been beyond disgusting.

Marner knows he holds the cards and is going to get his retribution by forcing the Leafs to run it back, fold in the playoffs as usual, and then walk for nothing next season.

So be it. I haven't hated a player as much as Marner in a long time, if ever. If the guy played the way he negotiated his contracts we'd all love him. Instead he again uses the media, tries to put pressure on the team, etc.

If he thinks he is going to just play it out like Willy did he is mistaken. It is going to be a major distraction the entire season. The failure is on Shanahan not moving him last year and the fans are not going to take it.

He will be booed every time he touches the puck if it comes to it. Marner jersey on the ice every game. f*** him.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Jack Eichel was traded with a nmc,coming off serious neck surgery and a caphit of 10+
Marner we can retain on Mitch or have a third team.
Its not impossible and could end just as bad for Mitch as the Leafs

Disagree on this. MM on a "disappointing" season is still going to make bank based on his consistent production over the last 5 year. I think that the Leafs would be the one with a black eye if they cut off their nose to spite their face by playing MM 3rd line minutes, or sitting him in the pressbox. MM's agent has plenty of consistent production to get him a great deal on 7/1/25 regardless of what the Leaf's do "to" Mitch this year.

The only think that MM "loses" by sticking with the Leafs is the ability to get an 8th year on a UFA contract. He could "recover" some of this by signing a shorter term deal that get him UFA eligibility at 29/30 like AM is doing, which does have risk involved, or by signing a 7 year deal and then knowing he'd be back on the market at 35.

Agree with others that MM's camp holds the cards in this. Don't see MM's camp being afraid of some veiled threats when acting in that fashion would be hugely detrimental to the Leafs organization long term.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Disagree on this. MM on a "disappointing" season is still going to make bank based on his consistent production over the last 5 year. I think that the Leafs would be the one with a black eye if they cut off their nose to spite their face by playing MM 3rd line minutes, or sitting him in the pressbox. MM's agent has plenty of consistent production to get him a great deal on 7/1/25 regardless of what the Leaf's do "to" Mitch this year.

The only think that MM "loses" by sticking with the Leafs is the ability to get an 8th year on a UFA contract. He could "recover" some of this by signing a shorter term deal that get him UFA eligibility at 29/30 like AM is doing, which does have risk involved, or by signing a 7 year deal and then knowing he'd be back on the market at 35.

Agree with others that MM's camp holds the cards in this. Don't see MM's camp being afraid of some veiled threats when acting in that fashion would be hugely detrimental to the Leafs organization long term.

At this point, it is bigger than winning the MM negotiation. The Leafs at some point needs to put their foot down and say they are not just being taken to the cleaners every time a good player needs money.

The need to change the mercenary culture is so immense. Most Leaf fans would be fine if they came out and publicly said they don't want Marner and sat him. The season is a write off anyways, f*** him.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

So be it. I haven't hated a player as much as Marner in a long time, if ever. If the guy played the way he negotiated his contracts we'd all love him. Instead he again uses the media, tries to put pressure on the team, etc.

If he thinks he is going to just play it out like Willy did he is mistaken. It is going to be a major distraction the entire season. The failure is on Shanahan not moving him last year and the fans are not going to take it.

He will be booed every time he touches the puck if it comes to it. Marner jersey on the ice every game. f*** him.

Just IMO - but your post kind of comes across as bi-polar.

Paragraph 1 - MM is an evil SOB. And it's only MM that uses the media, not the Leafs. (BTW, from my perspective it's the Leafs who are the ones threatening him to waive contractual rights they freely gave him, or they'll make his life hell thru the media.)
Paragraph 2 - it's all Shanny's fault. And the distraction is only going to hurt MM, not the Leafs.
Paragraph 3 - Leafs fans are solely going to blame Marner.