Maple Leafs officially take calls on Mitch Marner trade!

It’s been said and hinted at that forward Mitch Marner will be playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2024-25 season. But we all knew this feeling was going to change every day until the start of the campaign and beyond and that’s what happened when insider Chris Johnston reported on Tuesday that the Maple Leafs were taking calls on a Marner trade.

While he believes the Leafs have not yet received an offer that is serious, they are still entertaining offers to see what they could get in return for Marner and then approach him with the possible move.

That’s because Marner is in control with his full no-movement clause and Toronto cannot trade or waive him without his permission.

But still, general manager Brad Treliving is listening, per Johnston:

“I think the Leafs are very mindful about turning this into some sort of war. At the end of the day, Mitch Marner controls the situation. He has a full no-movement clause, he’s one year out for UFA, he’s still a player that has had multiple 90+ point seasons. As much as the Leafs might end up guiding this in a certain direction, he’s got the hammer.

“I’m sure the Leafs have already taken calls on him in terms of feeling out what the Leafs might want if they ever thought to trade him. You have those exploratory conversations and if they think there’s something that makes sense for the team that’s when they engage with Marner’s camp to see if he would consider waiving his no move. I don’t get any sense there is friction there or that they are leaning heavily on him. We’ll see if there is even a trade that makes any sense. At this point I don’t think that is the case and at this point I don’t think they’ve had to approach Marner’s camp about that.”

As of now, it is said that Marner is focused on honoring the final year of his deal and hasn’t submitted any list of preferred trade destinations to Maple Leafs’ management. Last week, the forward’s camp seems adamant that he will remain in Toronto, but there might be come a trade offer that he simply cannot refuse. But it’s been said more than once that the Maple Leafs aren’t likely to come out winners in any Marner trade seeing that current deal sees him paid a shade over $10.9 million against the cap. Marner and his camp can start negotiations o a new deal as early as July, 1st, and will most likely be in line for a raise.

Marner, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Maple Leafs, posted 26 goals and 59 assists for a total of 85 points in 69 games in the 2023-24 season. He could very well finish his current deal in Toronto, but maybe not his NHL career.