Leafs make a pitch to Marner on new contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made it clear how imperative it is to get Mitch Marner re-signed before July 1st. 

It sure looks that they have taken an important step in getting closer to re-signing the star forward on Tuesday as Sportsnet’s John Shannon that general manager Kyle Dubas and team president Brendan Shanahan met with Marner’s agent Darren Ferris to discuss a new deal. 

It have been a busy day for Shanahan, who himself signed a six-year contact extension with Toronto today. 

The Maple Leafs have over $74.2 million invested in 17 players for 2019-20, which means they have less than $9 million to work with should the salary cap reach the projected $83 million.

It is expected that Marner will be seeking Auston Matthews money, he who agreed to a  $11.6 million AAV that he signed prior to the trade deadline back in February.  

However, the Leafs won’t surpass Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane’s price tag of $10.5 million. They would prefer something similar to Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone or Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov ($9.5 million)... however they have the luxury to play in no-tax states.  

While we don’t know what the first pitch was, some doubt that Marner would accept less that 10$ million a year. This could be a starting point if the Leafs want to get this done fast.

“Despite the fact that I know this is a major topic and important to our fans and the public, I’m not going to comment at all out of respect for the process," said Dubas after their meeting, per Shannon.