Marner forces Toronto’s hand!

Entering emotional and tough negotiations!

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Published 4 years ago
Marner forces Toronto’s hand!
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The Toronto Maple Leafs and pending RFA Mitch Marner are playing a dangerous game of Chicken right now. 

According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, who shared some more information on Tuesday during his 31 Thoughts podcast with Jeff Marek on Sportsnet, both camps are waiting to see which side is going to blink first when it comes to the threat of an offer sheet or a possible trade.

“I am sure that if this isn’t done by the draft weekend, the Leafs will see what the value is. It doesn’t mean they’re going to do it. But I think they’re in a bit of a game of Chicken right now,” explained the insider. 

Friedman revealed that the Maple Leafs have informed Marner that if he seeks the big number he’s been said to be looking for - seeking Auston Matthews money, he who agreed to a $11.6 million AAV back in February - then he needs to be willing to ink a long eight-year deal to get that money. 

However, it appears that Marner isn’t ready to sign for that long in Toronto. It seems like Marner would prefer a 5-6 year deal at 10.5M+ AAV. 

“I think Marner wants to see if someone forces Toronto’s hand.”

There is no doubt that the Leafs need to consider their tight cap space. They have over $74.2 million invested in 17 players for 2019-20 and are one of the teams fearing that the NHL salary cap for next season could be well below the initial estimate of $83 million.

Friedman does believe that despite this being a tough emotional process of negotiations common sense will prevail. However, we can clearly see it won’t be easy to get there… 

Source: Sportsnet