Maple Leafs Front Office Faces Criticism Over Mitch Marner Trade Return

As the offseason has led to the Toronto Maple Leafs making just marginal gains to their roster in the wake of Marner's departure in a sign-and-trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, a move that netted center Nicolas Roy.

On TSN's 'Overdrive', Brian Hayes debated the Marner deal with Jonas Siegel of 'The Athletic', arguing over how things played out between the Leafs and Marner and whether or not mistakes were made by the front office to not act sooner to get a deal done.

Hayes points out that it appeared Marner did not appear happy and said the Leafs should have made a deal before the end of the season to get more value, while also criticizing the team for failing to force a deal with Marner whether by trading him or getting an extension done.

Siegel retorted that Marner didn't want to leave Toronto during the trade deadline because his wife was pregnant, while saying the Leafs should have forced Marner's hand sooner.

Hayes said that if Brad Treliving and the Leafs front office knew Marner was going to Vegas prior to him signing, it was "significant malpractice". Siegel responded saying he felt the team did know with both wondering why Marner stayed if he was unhappy.

The Toronto Maple Leafs could have moved Mitch Marner out a long time ago, even prior to the start of last season, and ultimately they didn't.

At the trade deadline, even if Marner had the desire to wait for the end of the season to decide on his future, it was clear a deal wouldn't happen at that stage with his wife pregnant and the Leafs still a cup contender.

It's forgotten that Marner did play well for the Leafs to start the postseason, with 13 points in 13 games played, it was just when he was needed most he disappeared, although he wasn't the only one on Toronto's roster who turned into a ghost late against Florida, he just happened to be the one with a contract up.

Surely a part of Mitch Marner, who grew up a Leafs fan, had a desire to stay in Toronto but under very specific demands that the team could not, and would not match.

Although Nicolas Roy is a solid player, trading Mitch Marner months earlier or even a year earlier nets a far more favorable return and one the Leafs ultimately could have gotten more from, but doesn't guarantee they make it past Florida.

They had a chance to land Mikko Rantanen but Marner vetoed it; though ended up signing the exact same deal after talks he wanted to earn more money.

Ultimately, the Toronto Maple Leafs waited too long to act on Mitch Marner, but the extent of how much of it is their fault remains a bit of a question with Marner being the one who dictated his future.

But perhaps if the Toronto Maple Leafs were more forceful and demanding of Marner to not wait, they could have prevented what seemingly looked to be a very clear divorce between the two sides, one that could have been avoidable in getting less in the end.