Insider Pierre LeBrun Breaks Down Mitch Marner's Contract Status With the Maple Leafs
NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun spoke on TSN's OverDrive program on Thursday and explained the circumstances surround Mitch Marner's contract situation.
The talk surrounding Mitch Marner is getting more and more heated each passing day. Whether he stays or goes, what he's going to make, and what his true intentions might be are just some of the topics of discussion surrounding the pending free agent.
But the Maple Leafs need to have an answer one way or another, and saying you want to stay with a team yet continuing to essentially hold them hostage is not a good look for Marner, and everyone involved would really like a solution that benefits all parties.
NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun however, has a bit more information regarding all the intricacies surrounding the future of Mitch Marner. Appearing on TSN's OverDrive program, the prominent Insider spoke about what exactly is going on:
I was talking to a lot of people. From what I've gathered, when Brad Treliving approached Mitch and his camp about the Carolina scenario; the first words out of their mouth was 'We want to sign you.'
But because there was no official negotiations so far this year, it was presented as 'We haven't negotiated, is this an offer that interests you?' [Going to Carolina for Mikko Rantanen] and he said 'No' which is obviously his right, I love when they use no-moves, but I don't think it upsets some people that he did this. I'd be more upset if Treliving didn't look at all his assets.
They've not been able to negotiate, you get to the deadline and look at everything. Here's proof: Boston; David Pastrnak were genuinely concerned if they didn't sign, he could be traded. There was a legitimate threat, could have been a bluff, but there was a lot of tension.
Fast forward to this year, if I had said in September the Colorado Avalanche; who were trying to win a Cup, would have traded Mikko Rantanen in January, you'd of thought I was on crack.
But this is what happens when teams feel threatened they don't control their assets past the deadline.
I think what happens in the playoffs is about 90% of all this. Mitch Marner being a scapegoat for a first round exit can greatly affect how this ends up. Mitch Marner bringing Toronto to a Conference Finals can greatly affect how this ends up.
Playoffs are everything in terms of where this goes. From a human being perspective, for Mitch Marner there's two ways to look at it: Lose trust because they thought about trading you, or it scared the living crap out of you that yo could no longer be a Leaf and went 'Oh man I want to stay here actually.'
It's two extreme lines of thought but I don't know if there's much in the middle, it has to be one or the other in my mind.
But because there was no official negotiations so far this year, it was presented as 'We haven't negotiated, is this an offer that interests you?' [Going to Carolina for Mikko Rantanen] and he said 'No' which is obviously his right, I love when they use no-moves, but I don't think it upsets some people that he did this. I'd be more upset if Treliving didn't look at all his assets.
They've not been able to negotiate, you get to the deadline and look at everything. Here's proof: Boston; David Pastrnak were genuinely concerned if they didn't sign, he could be traded. There was a legitimate threat, could have been a bluff, but there was a lot of tension.
Fast forward to this year, if I had said in September the Colorado Avalanche; who were trying to win a Cup, would have traded Mikko Rantanen in January, you'd of thought I was on crack.
But this is what happens when teams feel threatened they don't control their assets past the deadline.
I think what happens in the playoffs is about 90% of all this. Mitch Marner being a scapegoat for a first round exit can greatly affect how this ends up. Mitch Marner bringing Toronto to a Conference Finals can greatly affect how this ends up.
Playoffs are everything in terms of where this goes. From a human being perspective, for Mitch Marner there's two ways to look at it: Lose trust because they thought about trading you, or it scared the living crap out of you that yo could no longer be a Leaf and went 'Oh man I want to stay here actually.'
It's two extreme lines of thought but I don't know if there's much in the middle, it has to be one or the other in my mind.
That certainly was a lot wasn't it? Let's break down what LeBrun said a little bit more.
Mitch Marner's Complicated Contract Negotiations
The NHL Trade Deadline was a litmus test for how Brad Treliving handles pressure, and he seemed to have passed with flying colors (through bloodshot eyes).
But it was also a test for Marner, to gauge how committed he was to the team. Approaching the forward to say 'Look, you're really putting us in a jam' isn't really a great way to get Marner to make a decision, but the fact the team was willing to entertain an offer should give him pause.
Mitch Marner, for all his desire to get as much money as possible, truly wants to be a Maple Leaf for life (and if he doesn't, then played us all as suckers) and these elongated negotiations seem to be less to do with Marner and more to do with his agent, Darren Ferris.
Known for squeezing every last dollar out of teams and always making sure to hit the open market, it throws a bit of a wrench into Marner's mentality. He wants to stay, but Ferris can convince him otherwise.
The Leafs were gambling a bit with Marner's trust, and if they lost it due to his own handiwork, then the onus is on the player, not the team, and his camp is solely to blame for things falling out over such a small amount.
On the flip side, maybe the team scared the daylights out of Marner. This is a business after all, and if Wayne Gretzky can get traded in the history of the NHL, you bet your bottom dollar Marner would be available.
So maybe he took it as a sign that the team would be comfortable moving on if he wanted to keep playing hardball, and if he isn't going to truly commit to the Maple Leafs, maybe they aren't going to fully commit to him.
Whatever the case may be, it's a storyline that isn't going to end anytime soon for either Marner or the Maple Leafs this season.
The only thing that would silence things a bit besides a Marner extension?
A Stanley Cup win. That's a good start.
| POLL | ||
MARS 14 | 664 ANSWERS Insider Pierre LeBrun Breaks Down Mitch Marner's Contract Status With the Maple Leafs Do you think the Maple Leafs will be able to re-sign Mitch Marner or will he leave in free agency? | ||
| Re-Signs with Maple Leafs | 364 | 54.8 % |
| Leaves In Free Agency | 300 | 45.2 % |
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