Report: Mitch Marner Received Offer Sheet Before Signing with Leafs
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Pending UFA and former Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner almost became a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets but a failed offer sheet attempt prevented it.
As the Maple Leafs try and adjust to a life without Mitch Marner, they are going to need to make sure they bring in the right pieces, and hopefully recuperate some of their lost offense.
But it actually could have been much, much different years ago.
Columbus had an offer sheet ready for Mitch Marner: Aaron Portzline
According to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and Marner's agent Darren Ferris discussed the potential of signing the then 22-year old to an offer sheet after losing both Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin:
To this day, it's hard to say how serious the talks were between the Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner, then a 22-year-old restricted free agent.
But as The Athletic reported back then, Kekäläinen and Darren Ferris, Marner's agent, at least discussed the possibility of signing Marner to an offer sheet.
Marner ultimately stayed with the Maple Leafs, signing a six-year, $65.4 million contract during which he cemented his status as one of the NHL's top talents. That contract expires July 1, and Marner is set to hit the market, this time as an unrestricted free agent. - Aaron Portzline
But as The Athletic reported back then, Kekäläinen and Darren Ferris, Marner's agent, at least discussed the possibility of signing Marner to an offer sheet.
Marner ultimately stayed with the Maple Leafs, signing a six-year, $65.4 million contract during which he cemented his status as one of the NHL's top talents. That contract expires July 1, and Marner is set to hit the market, this time as an unrestricted free agent. - Aaron Portzline
This seems to confirm what Ferris mentioned years ago before Marner signed his extension, mentioning that he received two offer sheets but declined.
Would Mitch Marner have helped Columbus back in 2019?
Considering the team has been at or near the basement since Panarin and Bobrovsky's departures, it's hard to argue that adding a perennial 90-100 point player wouldn't be good for your team.
That roster was led by a 21-year old Pierre-Luc Dubois with 49 points; comparatively, Marner had more assists (51) and points (67) that season alone.
This is also a team that had the likes of Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Vladislav Gavrikov, oh; and a 25-year old Seth Jones.
Adding a then-22 year old Marner to that group would have given the Blue Jackets a ton of youth and a dynamic team that could feasibly fight for contention every year.
All of those players above have become superstars or at the very least, solid role players for their respective teams, even Dubois; who has become a bit of a journeyman in recent seasons.
Marner signed his deal in 2019 for $10,901,333 per season, and while we don't know the exact numbers, it's a possibility that Kekäläinen would have offered him more than $11M, but Marner wanted to win in Toronto at the time.
It's one of the biggest 'What if's' that could have happened in recent history, and with Marner a free agent July 1: Could history repeat itself?
| POLL | ||
JUIN 12 | 403 ANSWERS Report: Mitch Marner Received Offer Sheet Before Signing with Leafs Do you think Toronto would have matched the offer sheet for Mitch Marner? | ||
| Yes | 209 | 51.9 % |
| No | 194 | 48.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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