Two top NHL insiders suggest there is a real chance Mitch Marner could be traded.

If you had told me even just a few days ago that there was a chance that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner would be traded over the summer I would have laughed in your face. The idea on the surface is a preposterous one and when you consider that Marner actually finished the season as the organizations leading scorer it becomes all the more ridiculous. 

As crazy as it sounds though there have now been 2 National Hockey League insiders who in recent days have outright suggested that a trade involving Marner would not be outside the realm of possibility. Now to be clear neither man has suggested that Marner will be traded, but both men did clearly indicate that they feel there is at least a risk of the move happening if the Maple Leafs are not comfortable giving Marner the kind of money he could command in the open market. 

Earlier this week Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas made it crystal clear that a deal must get done before July 1st, and it's not hard to see why. Although offer sheets are almost never used in the National Hockey League, player of Marner's stature also almost never get to their free agent date before signing a contract extension. One need look no further than the mega contracts signed by players like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews in recent years to see examples of how teams generally tend to handle negations with their star players. 

Here's what Sportsnet National Hockey League insider had to say following the comments from Dubas.

“I think what the Toronto Maple Leafs are saying by mentioning that July 1 date is that they’re not going to let anyone else dictate to them about what Mitch Marner’s salary is going to be,” said Friedman as per Sportsnet.

What was most interesting however was that Firedman also added that if a deal was not reach before the 1st of July “anything’s in the air.” That comes as a huge surprise to me, but it is not just Friedman talking this way anymore. 

TSN National Hockey League insider Darren Dreger also recently touched on the issue and he was much more direct than Friedman when it came to the possibility of a trade involving Marner. Dreger expressed doubts that the Leafs could afford to have 3 players earning over $ 10 million per season and even added that John Tavares and Auston Matthews would not be the players getting traded.

"The question is: Can you afford to add two, let alone three $11 million players in Matthews, Tavares and in Mitch Marner?" said Dreger as per TSN. "I don't see it - but the unthinkable is, what do you do? Do you move Mitch Marner? If you legitimately can’t get to $10 million or more and you're legitimately afraid of an offer sheet, what do you do? 

"Do you trade him? Do you trade one of them? You're not trading Auston Matthews . You're not trading John Tavares ...Dubas can't show his hand, (but) how much fun would it be to sit in on that post-mortem of hockey operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs as they plan and strategize moving forward?"

What makes this all the more difficult for the Maple Leafs is Dreger's belief that this plays right into Marner's hands. Dreger added that if he was Marner's agent at this point he would give the organization a hard ultimatum regarding negotiations.

"If I'm Darren Ferris [the agent for Mitch Marner], I'm in hiding! The conversation I would have would be short - it would be, 'All right, you guys know what's it is going to take. If you're not going beyond $10.5, don't bother calling. If you're around 11, then give me a call. Otherwise, I'll see you in mid-June.'"

It may seem far fetched but make no mistake about it, the NHL's top insiders believe there's a chance Marner may not be a Maple Leaf come season.