40-Goal Scorer Named as Leafs' Top Target if Mitch Marner Departs

There's a lot of talk surrounding the status of Mitch Marner come the 2025-26 season. He's assuredly getting a huge contract, and with the question being how much, it's safe to say the amount is going to be nothing short of astronomical.

Toronto is going to struggle to afford him, and while the salary cap is rising, there is a strong possibility he is headed elsewhere with a boatload of money and the chance to be a leader and not play second fiddle to Auston Matthews, even if he does end up being more complete.

So for arguments sake, if Marner were to leave town, who would Toronto add to replace him?

There's a lot of prospective free agents who could fill the void, and while they don't offer the same exact set of skills that Marner brings, perhaps it's more about going deeper than going big.

According to a new article written for The Athletic by NHL insiders Jonas Siegel and James Mirtle, the Maple Leafs could look to a bunch of different players, but one in particular makes sense to both men:

While not necessarily the elite level of Marner, Boeser is no slouch either.

He's only gone two seasons without scoring 20+ goals, is coming off a 40-goal campaign last year, averaging nearly 48 points per season over his nine-year career.

Yes, it's not the 80-100 point plateau that Marner hits, but with the potential he brings in terms of size, goal-scoring, playoff production, and an elite shot percentage; he's a great replacement given Auston Matthews is a capable playmaker in his own right.

This season, Boeser has 46 points in 67 games (24G, 22A) and for his career has 430 points in 546 games, a .78 PPG rate; which while not the level of Marner, is still respectable for a bruising winger.

Toronto can also look to use a much bigger top line, with Matthew Knies, Boeser, and Matthews; the smallest man there is Boeser at 6'1, so we could see a changing of the guard in terms of first line production for the team, emphasizing hits and toughness as opposed to pure offense.

For the last nine seasons, the main plan was that Mitch Marner was going to be one of the players able to help the Maple Leafs end their playoff drought. Though that may happen this season, he's most likely gone if not.

So maybe Toronto needs to change their plan.