As the top pending unrestricted free agent, winger Mitch Marner will have a chance to choose between a bunch of contract options. According to Pierre LeBrun in his latest post for The Athletic (subscription link), a couple of teams believe that Marner is considering signing just a two-year deal this summer with the hopes of getting a long-term contract in place in 2027 when the Upper Limit of the salary cap is projected to be around $113MM at that time. The value of the two-year pact would still likely surpass that of Mikko Rantanen’s AAV ($12MM) with Dallas, the new benchmark for a contract given to a winger. The 28-year-old had 27 goals and 75 assists in 81 games this season for the Maple Leafs while adding 13 points in 13 playoff contests.
Other news regarding players set to hit the open market next month:
- The Maple Leafs and center John Tavares are still not close on a new contract. Tavares has made it known that his desire is to remain with Toronto while the Leafs are hoping that he’ll leave some money on the table to do so. However, he’s the top middleman in a thinning UFA group at that position and is coming off a 38-goal, 74-point season. Realistically, he could push for $7.5MM or more on a multi-year deal if he gets to July 1st. Speculatively, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Toronto offering a long-term deal at a lower rate per season to maximize their cap flexibility this summer.
- Pending UFA center Dominic Toninato has dropped his agent Neil Sheehy, relays Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription link). Instead of hiring a new one, he plans to represent himself in negotiations this summer. The 31-year-old has spent the last five seasons with the Jets although most of his playing time has come with AHL Manitoba. Toninato was held off the scoresheet in five games with Winnipeg this season while he had 18 goals and 18 assists with the Moose. He’s a strong candidate to sign another two-way pact with the team before much longer.
- Defenseman Marc Del Gaizo won’t be returning to the Predators next season, reports Lower Broad Hockey’s Nick Kieser (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is eligible to become a Group Six free agent next month and it appears that he’ll test the market instead of re-signing. Del Gaizo played in 44 games with Nashville this season, picking up nine points, 53 blocks, and 71 hits while averaging 16:45 per game. He also suited up in 30 games with AHL Milwaukee, notching eight goals and four assists after putting up at least 30 points at that level the previous two years.
It’s well known that Anaheim, Columbus, & Carolina are interested in going after Mitch Marner but a team that keeps appearing in a variety of reports is that Vegas seems to be the primary destination for Marner. I don’t know how exactly Vegas would make it work as they would need to clear more cap space. Granted, Vegas isn’t afraid to shake things up as history has shown. I guess we’ll find out rather soon.
Heck of a crapshoot, if Marner proves — as some speculate — to be Huberdeau 2.0, and drops back to earth playing with lesser centers. There’s no way in his skates I wouldn’t take max term, just so that I could MAYBE grab at a couple million more AAV a couple years down the line.
Long term for Tavares lol
I’d be surprised if Marner doesn’t sign for 7 years and 100m+ somewhere. Ducks is my guess.
Unlike Marner, Tavares has always been a playoff dud, is slow, and about to turn 35. He only wants to be in Toronto. Max 3/15. He will come wallowing back.