Maple Leafs Need to Move on From Either Marner or Rielly – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

Another year, another early playoff exit for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It seemed this year could be different; it felt different. They had so many different names, a different style, and a different vibe. Unfortunately, in all the “different,” it turned out to be the same as previous years.

With all the disappointment in the last several years, it seems that this is the final year that the full Maple Leafs’ core will be returning. While the same thing was thought of last season, this time the team has a new general manager (GM) and potentially some major changes coming to the front office and coaching staff. It seems like the core has to be the next domino to fall.

Maple Leafs’ GM Brad Treliving won’t be moving his star, Auston Matthews, or potentially the best playoff performer on the team, William Nylander. While it is going to be hard to move any of them, they will need to get creative and find out who is wanted on the open market. That essentially takes John Tavares out of the equation, largely due to his contract. That leaves Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly as the two players who could be moved to shake up the culture of this team.

Why Does Moving Marner Make Sense?

If the Maple Leafs are serious about moving a piece of their core, Marner makes the most sense hands down. Firstly, he is entering the last season of his current contract. Rather than re-signing him to a larger deal that carries a higher average annual value (AAV) and puts the organization in a harder spot cap-wise, it would be better for the club to look for potential trade partners that fit Marner’s requests and attempt to move on from him. Now, the hardest part of making this all work is the fact that he carries a full no-movement clause, which gives the team little to no leverage when it comes to a trade. However, it has been done before, and it’ll be done again.

The important thing to remember is that Marner is now going to be the scapegoat for all things Maple Leafs playoff elimination. Rightfully so though, he wasn’t very good. At times, he looked nervous and scared to initiate contact in the corners. It all came to a head when he appeared to give up on his check, David Pastrnak, which led to the Game 7 overtime (OT) winner….