HEART BREAK NEWS: Matthew Knies officially announce his Resignation and Departure From toronto maple leafs today due to………READ MORE.
Marner has been the subject of trade rumors since the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs. The winger is entering the final year of his six-year $65.4 million deal he signed in 2019. Although Marner’s name has been in plenty of trade rumors, Johnston reports that Toronto hasn’t decided if they will trade Marner.
“The Leafs are not leaning on Mitch Marner right now. They have not decided 100 percent they have to trade him, and they are going to make life uncomfortable, and they’re getting the list of names. None of that’s what’s going on,” Johnston said on The Chris Johnston Show.
According to Johnston, the plan for the Maple Leafs is to see what the market for Marner is before approaching him on moving his no-movement clause.
“I think there’s some frustration just about all the public discourse about it. That’s the nature of the beast when you’re that player, snd when the possibilities are on the table that we’re talking about. But at this point in time, I don’t think the Leafs have a deal for them, and I don’t think they’ve gone to them and asked them for a list or anything like that,” Johnston said.
“It does not make any sense for the Leafs to go to war with this player, to make this any more public than it already is, they are quietly behind the scenes see and gauge if there is a trade market and if there is, they will take it to the next step and see if Mitch Marner is willing to consider that move,” Johnston added.
Marner recorded 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 points in 69 regular season games last year. In the playoffs, he added 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points in seven playoff games.
