Player Discussion Mitch Marner, Continued

[I am Canadian]

Shows up in the playoffs, leafs win two+ rounds sign him to 12 x 8.

He craps the bed and leafs crash out, evaluate the options

 

[Gary Nylund]

One hundred percent agree Gary but the best changes come from trades. There’s a reason why teams don’t walk their best players to free agency. It’s bad asset management. No one is saying don’t make changes, but this is one of the worst ways to make changes historically speaking. The teams that have changed their core have made trades that have benefited them.

Of course trading is better than losing a guy for nothing, and chances are Marner will be signed. That said, and history notwithstanding, there is no guarantee that extending Marner will turn out better then letting him walk would turn out. There is also some combination of cap hit and term where the Leafs should just say no, that's too much, we're not doing that.

He wants to be here, he makes millions in endorsements, he wasn't good value for his last contract, he has been a playoff disappointment and covid also didn't cost him any money which is something you can't say for most of the players in the league. Bottom line, considering everything, I say he's gotta give a little, bend a little, be reasonable and if rumours are true and he already turned down a very sweet contract, that suggests that he wants to milk us for all he can and if that's the case, I say f*** him, let him walk.

 

[Antropovsky]

Choose whatever management group you want, doesn’t make your take any less egregious.

Name me a superstar in the Salary Cap era that their NHL Club let them walk to UFA because of poor playoff performance. I’ll wait, it’s never fcking happened ever.

Better yet, tell me a team that refused to pay a superstar because of lack of playoff success. Yup, I’ll wait. Never happened. Playoff performance has never been a MAJOR factor in contract negotiations. It’s definitely a part of it. But it doesn’t weigh as heavily as regular season. Contracts are primarily based on how much you produce in the regular season. All we hear when players talk about comparables is individual regular season statistics because everyone involved in sports know that playoff success has more to do with team.

No... but most management arent as dysfunctional as the leafs. We learned this from the Lou breakup followed by the Dubas breakup. How green everyone was after Lou and we know there were diagreements between Dubas and Shanahan. Additionally, we learned there were apparently disagreements between Rogers and Bell. Which led to Rogers buying out Bell. Other managements, wouldve moved Marner sooner. But that doesnt mean its not still the right decision.

However, Zito wasnt dumb and he traded Huberdeau, coming off 113 points for Tkatchuk. Apparently he didnt like what he saw from Huberdeau in the playoffs.

I suggested Leafs trade Marner for Tkatchuk. Was told by Marner fans (still in this thread) that Marner was easily better. Got some lolz too.

I suggested Leafs trade Marner for Eichel. Was told by Marner fans (still in this thread) that Marner was easily better. Got some lolz too.

I suggest Marner for a Connor package, was told Marner was easily better.

Marner fans even used ro say he was better than Kucherov.

Ive pointed to Marners lack of battle and fear of physical play and how losing doesnt seem to bother him... how he makes excuses for losing like "its the hardest trophy to win for a reason". Despite multiple videos of him leaving pucks in corners to avoid being hit (pulling the chute), the videos separated by 4 postseasons.

Told I know nothing.

Well here is how Panthers choose their players:

The Panthers stick to a guiding philosophy: Every player is scouted for his character. Players must be ultra competitive, but also humble enough to buy into Coach Maurice's style, which is mentally and physically taxing. Zito said their vetting often includes questions like: How compelled are they by winning? What types of sacrifices have they made at previous stops?

Marner ...not ultra competitive and not humble.

 

[ClarkSittler]

Again never said it doesn’t matter. I said it doesn’t play that big of a role. Whether Marner gets the money from the leafs or somewhere else, he’s getting paid. If the leafs care about his playoff performance, another team will sign him in UFA and not care about the playoff numbers. That’s how sports has always worked, am I wrong about that?

I hear what you're saying, but almost every superstar in every sport has one thing in common, Championship wins.

Go look at the top 30 NHL scorers of all time, they have all been to a Cup final (except Mats Sundin who lead us to two Conference finals at least) and over 90% have Stanley Cup rings. Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe, Yzerman, Crosby, Malkin, Kopitar, Kane, Sakic. The list doesn't even include McDavid, Draisaitl, Kucherov, Stamkos, Point, Orr, Mckinnon, Makar, Keith, Toews, Roy, Brodeur. This is what superstars do, they get you to Championships and usually win them.

NBA Stars Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron, Curry.

NFL Mahomes, Brady, Montana, Rice, Elway, Brees, Manning, Roethlisberger.

MLB is a little different since since the rosters are so big and pitching determines a lot, but you have Jeter, Rivera, Ortiz, Smoltz, Koufax, Nolan Ryan and even our own Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield.

Soccer Both Rinaldo's, Messi, Maradona, Zidane, Pele, Platini

Now Marner, Matthews, Tavares and Nylander still have some time, but so far they haven't lead their team anywhere near a Championship.

 

[LeafEgo]

One hundred percent agree Gary but the best changes come from trades. There’s a reason why teams don’t walk their best players to free agency. It’s bad asset management. No one is saying don’t make changes, but this is one of the worst ways to make changes historically speaking. The teams that have changed their core have made trades that have benefited them.

There's a strong argument to be made there no doubt, but you might not be putting enough weight behind a hypothetical ninth straight faceplant in a row. That's not nothing.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Toronto Maple Leafs Reportedly Set Their Limit On a Potential Mitch Marner Extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs want to bring back Mitch Marner this off-season, and now they've reportedly agreed on a limit that they will pay him to make it happen.

www.yardbarker.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs want to bring back Mitch Marner this off-season, and now they've reportedly agreed on a limit that they will pay him to make it happen.

For quite some time, the story of a potential Mitch Marner extension has been a huge story in Toronto, and now with his pending free agency quickly approaching, it's about to come to a head, one way or another.

In the midst of a career year, Marner's value is continuing to go up, and at 27 years of age with a huge career ahead of him, the time for Marner to cash in with a long-term deal is now.

Now, TSN's Pierre LeBrun has weighed in on the situation, noting that the team, much like Colorado doesn't want to make their upcoming free agents their highest-paid players, with Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews currently holding the mantle for their respective teams.

"It's not been a headline story which is unbelievable. What I would tell you is that there is no question that part of the dialogue that is a stumbling block is that much like Nathan MacKinnon's cap number much like Mikko Rantanen, they are pointing to Auston Matthews and I understand from a team perspective.

So, what does LeBrun think the number is in Toronto? According to him, the team has a hard limit of $13 million, with the team likely happy to pay him around the $12.5 million AAV mark.

"It comes down to this. I don't think the Leafs feel they can or will pay more than $13M, $12.5M? Is that enough for an 8-year deal? If that's where it is, that's the I think that's the clear line of demarcation, $13 million a year."

At this point in 2024/25, Marner is on track to pass 100 points for the first time in his career, and while many teammates in Toronto want him back, there will be interest around the league, and if the Leafs aren't willing to go over $12.5 million, we may see another team swoop in and land the young star.