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Nashville GM Barry Trotz breaks silence on possible Mitch Marner trade
Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz is already accomplishing his offseason goals, one of which may very well be to trade for Leafs superstar Mitch Marner.
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.
I asked Barry Trotz if he'd be interested in acquiring Mitch Marner, with now some $25 million in cap room.
His response is pretty hilarious and he shrugged it off as «just rumors.»
His response is pretty hilarious and he shrugged it off as «just rumors.»
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.
Just FYI, it's my understanding as of this moment that the Maple Leafs have not spoken to a single team about Mitch Marner. The Leafs were focused on the coaching situation which they've handled now. But there hasn't been any trade conversations regarding Marner.
Obviously we'll see how the next two months play out, no doubt teams will come calling the Leafs on him closer to the draft next month.
Obviously we'll see how the next two months play out, no doubt teams will come calling the Leafs on him closer to the draft next month.
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 appears the purpose of the McDonagh trade was to set up Barry Trotz to aggressively pursue a top scorer.
The Preds have been linked with Mitch Marner for the past few weeks and now have a cap hit of $61,654,199 for next season which gives them lots of room for a trade.
[Source: @MGsports_]
#leafsforever
The Preds have been linked with Mitch Marner for the past few weeks and now have a cap hit of $61,654,199 for next season which gives them lots of room for a trade.
[Source: @MGsports_]
#leafsforever
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.
| POLL | ||
MAI 21 | 659 ANSWERS Nashville GM Barry Trotz breaks silence on possible Mitch Marner trade Do you think the Nashville Predators will acquire Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade thus summer? | ||
| Yes | 341 | 51.7 % |
| No | 318 | 48.3 % |
| List of polls | ||