Mitch Marner brutally called out by controversial Toronto journalist.

Talk about pouring gasoline on to the fire.

Over the course of the last 10 days, since the National Hockey League's March 7th trade deadline, there has been a ton of talk surrounding the future of Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner. That talk has largely stemmed from the fact that reports leaked out revealing Marner had blocked a blockbuster trade by refusing to waive his no-movement clause, a right that was negotiated by Marner and his camp during his last contract negotiation.

Throughout it all Marner has insisted that he intends to remain a Toronto Maple Leaf and that he loves playing in the city of Toronto, but a recent revelation from a controversial Toronto columnist has cast some serious doubts on what Marner portrays to the public.

In his most recent column for the Toronto Sun, Toronto journalist Steve Simmons revealed that Marner did not immediately decline the trade to the Carolina Hurricanes and instead appears to have given the idea some serious consideration.

From Simmons:

Mitch Marner took the night to sleep on it.

According to Simmons, Marner did not give an answer until a day after he was asked to waive his no-movement clause and as we now know Marner declined to waive that clause. As a result of this Simmons now calls into question Marner's genuine desires to remain a Maple Leaf in the long term:

For all he talks about wanting to be a Maple Leaf for life, his only team, his only town, when he was asked about waiving the no-trade arrangement in his contract, he didn’t answer immediately.

The reality for the Maple Leafs is that Marner continues to be a truly elite two-way player at the National Hockey League level and this season has been no exception with 21 goals and 59 assists for 80 points in just 65 games and a plus minus rating of +9, and it would be extremely difficult to replace a player like Marner, that plays in all situations, on the open market.

If Marner is indeed being deceptive however, as Simmons appears to be attempting to portray, the Maple Leafs may have no choice but to begin working on their plans for a future without Mitch Marner in their lineup.