Rumor: Teams are waiting to offer sheet Marner in order to do maximum damage.

Well this is certainly a very interesting theory.

For weeks and weeks now we have been hearing just about every conceivable rumor regarding the future of Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner, and of course as of this writing none of them have come to fruition thus far. Marner, currently a restricted free agent, has been linked to a number of teams and potential offer sheets with the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets being the most prominent as of late. The fact that the offer sheets have not come down however, or at the very least have been turned down by Marner and his camp, has led many to believe that there will be no offer sheets of any kind forthcoming, but one National Hockey League writer disagrees.

In a recent article for The Hockey News Ken Campbell actually made a fairly compelling argument as to why the teams seriously contemplating an offer sheet for Marner could benefit greatly by waiting for the right time to strike. Rather than risking the Leafs potentially coming to terms with Marner on a new deal, something they have already had ample time to do, Campbell believes that rival teams could put the Leafs in serious cap jeopardy by waiting as long as possible.

From Campbell:

In fact, if a team truly wants to put the Leafs in a serious bind when it comes to an offer sheet, now is really not the time to do it. Giving Marner an offer sheet in July gives the Leafs far too much time to mobilize and make the moves they need to make to match the offer. So the longer a competitor waits to approach Marner, the more likely it is to succeed.

We do know there’s a very good chance Marner is not going to sign a long-term deal, either with the Leafs or anyone else. So here’s how you seriously put the Leafs in a bind: Either offer a one-year deal at $14 million or a five-year deal for Auston Matthews-John Tavares money and do it just before the regular-season begins.

The thinking here is that by waiting until just before the start of the regular season it would make it as difficult as humanly possible for Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas to put a plan in place. The Leafs certainly do not have the $14 million in cap space that Campbell has suggested Marner could get on a one year deal, which means an offer sheet of that nature would put them in a bind. 

One more thing I will add, and this is purely speculation on my part, there has been in my opinion surprisingly little mention of the New Jersey Devils as a potential suitor for Marner via an offer sheet. There have been rumblings that the Devils may loose star forward Taylor Hall in free agency and, although Hall shoots from a different side than Marner, you could certainly see Devils GM Ray Shero wanting to replace his star forward sooner rather than later if that is indeed the case.