We have to stop paying top dollar for UFAs as though they will save our team. Outside of Messier, when has that ever worked? That was a different time. There was no salary cap, and Marner is no Messier.
It didn't work with Panarin. Why would it work with Marner? His teams have had zero success in the playoffs. He isn't a guy that is going to put the team on his back in the playoffs and lead them to a cup.
The one argument for keeping Panarin that I can get behind is that he ties up 11.6 that you can't spend on someone this summer (and at worse, he's only got 1 additional year left. From a cap sheet perspective it makes all the sense in the world to try to clear Kreider and Zibanejad ahead of him even if he's culture poison.)
This UFA class is ass. Marner is better than Panarin but it's another player cut from the same deck who has a slightly better playoff resume.