It has almost been a week since the Toronto Maple Leafs were knocked out of the 2024 NHL Playoffs. The pill never gets easier to swallow; there is so much hype and passion surrounding the team just to see them fail yet again. But this time seems like the final straw; it seems like there could be real change coming this offseason.
With a new general manager (GM) at the helm, Brad Treliving, he will want to make this team his and get his fingerprints all over it. On top of that, he will also be challenged with what to do in terms of the big five players. There is almost $50 million locked up within five players, and he will need to figure out a way to address that. Ideally, he will look to move on from one of the five main pieces of this team, and if he can get creative, maybe two. The big one is Mitch Marner; he is entering the final year of his contract and will want a large bump in pay to be somewhere near or above William Nylander’s $11.5 million per season.
Treliving and the Maple Leafs can go to Marner’s camp and tell them they aren’t planning on paying him the money he is asking for. They can use this as leverage and convince him to look elsewhere. Unfortunately, he holds the leverage when it comes to the teams that he wants to go to, but if he would agree to it, the Maple Leafs could have a near-perfect trade partner in the Nashville Predators. They could work out a sign-and-trade with the Predators if he would sign off on it, and he would still be on a playoff team and could get the money that he is asking for. Let’s explore the idea further.
Full Trade
Toronto Maple Leafs Receive: Juuse Saros, Jeremy Lauzon, 2024 2nd Round Pick & 2025 1st Round Pick
Nashville Predators Receive: Mitch Marner (eight-year extension) & Calle Jarnkrok
Marner’s Fit with the Predators
Marner is a Markham-born hockey player who dreamed about one day playing for his boyhood Maple Leafs. He, unlike so many others, got that dream fulfilled when he was drafted by them in 2015. The narrative was already written; a hometown kid will grow up before our very eyes and help lead the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup. Well, it’s been nine years, and he and his team have only one playoff series win. On top of that, the media pressure has been getting worse, and over the years, he has especially appeared to grow more and more…
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