Report: Toronto's decision on Mitch Marner is imminent

For fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs who are waiting with baited breath to find out what the future has in store for forward Mitch Marner, a decision could be coming in the very near future. 

According to Spittin' Chicklets and TNT analyst Paul Bissonette, the Leafs are close to working out an extension with Marner that would keep him as a member of the team long term: 

If a deal ultimately gets done between the Leafs and Marner, it will have a varied reaction not only from Leafs fans but from the hockey world as a whole - especially given the fact that the talented forward once again drew considerable criticism for his lack of performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It didn't help his situation when it was essentially revealed that now-former head coach Sheldon Keefe treated Marner with kid gloves as so not to hurt his feelings, while being harder on other players. 

Marner has spent his entire career with the Leafs since being selected with the 4th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. In 576 career games, he's scored 194 goals and 445 assists, while also adding 11 goals and 39 assists in 57 career postseason games. He has one season left on his six-year, $65.358 million contract that carries an AAV of $11 million. 

If this is indeed the direction that the Leafs under the guidance of GM Brad Treliving and president Brendan Shanahan are going in, are they making the right call instead of utilizing Marner's salary to address other needs on the roster? 

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