Shocking Report Reveals Mitch Marner's Next Move With the Maple Leafs, per Insider

On Friday afternoon, Andy Strickland of the Cam and Strick Podcast announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be losing superstar free agent Mitch Marner to free agency, 18 days before the window for him to leave opens up.

Part of Strickland's report indicates that the Maple Leafs have expected Marner to leave in free agency, a massive mistake by Brendan Shanahan, as he fired Kyle Dubas when he suggested the possibility of moving on from Marner just before his full no-movement clause kicked in.

Marner is linked to a plethora of teams with many expected to make large bids for his services, some of which the Maple Leafs may not be able to match.

However, the silver lining of this departure is that it will give the Maple Leafs the flexibility to extend John Tavares, the Maple Leafs' former captain and a Toronto native who has been exceptional even in his mid-30s.

This also allows the Leafs to have more cap space to make moves outside of extending Marner and could lure in other big-name free agents who may not be as productive as Marner but could be great players to help fill the hole that Marner will leave.

Names like Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser could be top targets of the Leafs as well as potentially adding Brad Marchand to the fold.

While Marner's time in Toronto appears to have ended, he was certainly one of the most successful players in Maple Leafs franchise history, being top five in points with 741 in only 657 games.

After a 102-point year, Marner will be a massive piece for whichever team he signs with next.