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Report: Maple Leafs Make Final Decision on Mitch Marner

The Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly made their decision on pending free agent Mitch Marner.

Jon Alfano

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner skates against the Florida Panthers.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner skates against the Florida Panthers. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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The biggest question facing the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason, and one of the biggest questions facing any NHL team, is the fate of star forward Mitch Marner.

Marner, 28, is one of the the top scoring forwards in the league when he's at his best, and just posted a career-high 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) this season. However, he has routinely struggled in the playoffs, and especially later on in series when the Leafs need him most, with him most recently recording just one assist in the final four games of their second-round loss to the Florida Panthers. Just or not, he's been the whipping boy for Toronto fans whenever the playoffs roll around.

So, the Leafs have a tricky decision to make, do they extend Marner and keep their leading scorer this season, or do they let him walk after years of playoff shortcomings?

According to NHL insider Andy Strickland, they've reportedly decided to let Marner walk away.

Assuming this is the case, Marner would instantly become one of the most highly-coveted players to hit free agency in years. Despite his playoff struggles, he's still a 100-point player who also plays a strong defensive game, and those kinds of players don't grow on trees. He could easily command a contract worth $13 million-$14 million per year on the open market.

That said, it's still probably the best course of action for Toronto. The Maple Leafs have had the "core four" - Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares, the latter of whom is also a pending free agent - for seven years now, and they have a whopping two playoff series wins to show for it. It's clearly time for them to try something different, even if it means losing a great player for nothing.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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