Marner has been linked to many teams in trade rumors already this offseason. As soon as the Leafs were eliminated, speculation about his future went into overdrive. One of the teams he has been linked to is the Nashville Predators. As a result, Barry Trotz was asked about the team possibly pursuing the Leafs winger today, but his answer was rather coy.
NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported today that the Leafs have not actually had any conversations with other teams about a possible Marner trade yet. He says that the team was focused on hiring Craig Berube and figuring out their coaching staff overall. With that largely done though, this would indicate that we could start to hear more news about Marner in the near future.
Interestingly, Barry Trotz did make a big move today, trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh back to the Tampa Bay Lightning, opening up 6.75 million dollars in cap space. The speculation is that the move was made to give the team options on the free agent and trade markets, with Trotz reportedly looking to bring in a top scorer like Marner.
It would seem then, that it is a very real possibility that the Predators will make a serious push to bring in Marner. Be sure to stay tuned this summer as we find out where the Leafs superstar will go next, if he leaves the team at all.
