Jeff O'Neill and Darren Dreger clash over Mitch Marner contract on Sunday.

The intermission of Sunday night's broadcast of the matchup between the Utah Hockey Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs brought with it a very interesting discussion on the future of Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner and a pair of very different opinions to go along with it.

It was TSN's James Duthie who would put the question to the panel whom he asked whether or not signing Marner to a new contract extension prior to the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs should be a major priority for Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. Interestingly enough we got some rather distinct answers from the panel with former National Hockey League player Jeff O'Neill leading us off with a firm no on the question.

"I just don't know why, as good as Mitch Marner is as a player and as good as he's played of late, I don't know why you would want to lock up guys long term when you haven't seen playoff success," said O'Neill flatly. "There's been a phrase tossed around this organization 'If you have time on your side use it' so why not use it in this particular situation."

O'Neill's co-host on the panel however could not have had a more different opinion on the matter. That man was NHL insider Darren Dreger, who to be fair has often been accused of having extreme bias in favor of Mitch Marner's camp, and once again Dreger shared a rather pro-Marner opinion on this topic.

"Look there's no question the ability of Mitch Marner or the contribution to Mitch Marner to the Toronto Maple Leafs as a whole," said Dreger. "I think it's a priority for both the player and the organization. This cannot be a distraction going into the playoffs and it will be if they don't get the extension done."

Obviously these are two drastically different opinions but I think the points raised by both men here are fair. I'd love to know which side you favor, so let me know who you're backing in this debate in the comments.