Leafs could ditch surprising member of the “Core 4”

It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a salary cap crunch, and with scoring forward William Nylander singlehandedly driving his asking price upward thanks to his torrid pace ahead of this summer when he can become a free agent, things could get very difficult for general manager Brad Treliving to keep the band together. 

And while the general thought is that the Leafs may not be able to afford Nylander's services behind this season, one particular Leafs writer has come forward with a rather eyebrow raising prediction. According to Jay Rosehill, the Leafs could actually decide to part ways with Mitch Marner in order to facilitate Nylander's return next year with a new extension.

"Its tough man, they've got their hands tied and if you're going to untie them you have to undo those four," Rosehill said. "You can't just free something up with no value. It has to be something with value, it has to hurt a little bit and to me Mitch Marner, with the way he plays... I think he's the odd man out."

If the Leafs were indeed forced to part ways with a member of the so-called "Core 4", would Marner be the correct choice?

The 26-year-old Marner is currently on pace to reach 96 points this season, which would be within one point of his career-high output of 97 in 2021-22.

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