Mitch Marner Was Reportedly Willing to Leave Toronto for a Contender, per Insider
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Pending free agent Mitch Marner was reportedly set to waive his no-movement clause to go to a contending Western Conference team.
With the chatter surrounding potential destinations for Mitch Marner this summer, there was a chance we wouldn't have had to deal with this free agency fiasco whatsoever.
Mitch Marner Would Potentially Waive His NMC: David Pagnotta
According to reports from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, there were rumblings of a potential trade to Vegas that clearly didn't materialize, and believes that Sin City is one of the only teams he would be willing to go to:
Last summer, there were teams that inquired about Mitch Marner, and Vegas was one of them. They obviously didn't get there, but I believe Vegas would have been a team he would've waived to at that time.
This also echoes sentiments that NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman believes the two had a trade in place, but explains that Toronto's desire for defenseman Shea Theodore was the deal-breaker.
It seems that there's a high possibility of Marner signing in Vegas, although Pagnotta also believes there are some pretty big players willing to splash the cash:
I also think Los Angeles is going to be a player for Mitch Marner. That's a spot I think he'd be interested in going to.
I believe he has a list of around seven or eight teams he'd be open to signing with if they approached him, and then a secondary list of, 'Okay, you've got to sell me on coming here.'
Like, is somebody going to go nuts and offer $15 million?
Is it Anaheim, who's got over $30 million in cap space? Columbus, who's sitting on a ton of space? San Jose? Carolina? You don't get a player of this caliber available every year.
I believe he has a list of around seven or eight teams he'd be open to signing with if they approached him, and then a secondary list of, 'Okay, you've got to sell me on coming here.'
Like, is somebody going to go nuts and offer $15 million?
Is it Anaheim, who's got over $30 million in cap space? Columbus, who's sitting on a ton of space? San Jose? Carolina? You don't get a player of this caliber available every year.
Mitch Marner's Confidence Began His Downfall In Toronto
While admirable that Marner wanted to prove to everyone he could win with the team, he's shown that this is just another way that he may have sullied his name in Toronto.
This would be the second blocked trade (that we know of) and while it's not as egregious as the Mikko Rantanen one; it still hurts.
Marner was always for the team, but wouldn't hesitate to throw his teammates under the bus at a moment's notice. He would perform fantastic in the regular season and go invisible in the playoffs.
It's hard to keep the confidence high when you're saying one thing and doing another.
Not a villain yet, if Marner decides to sign with Florida as it's rumored as well then it will make him public enemy number one. His best bet to avoid the spotlight and the immense scrutiny is probably to go to Vegas; he'll be nailed here in the East.
So perhaps now he's regretting not taking a deal to go somewhere else. He certainly would have been missed a lot more than he will be this season; where now he's being painted as a pariah in Toronto.
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 596 ANSWERS Mitch Marner Was Reportedly Willing to Leave Toronto for a Contender, per Insider Where do you think Mitch Marner is going to sign in free agency? | ||
| Chicago | 119 | 20 % |
| Vegas | 274 | 46 % |
| Florida | 74 | 12.4 % |
| Toronto | 129 | 21.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
