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Mitch Marner to leave the Maple Leafs according to Elliotte Friedman


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Julien Trekker
May 6, 2024  (9:59)
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Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner in a press conference.
Photo credit: Screenshot

Mitch Marner could leave the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to the renowned insider Elliotte Friedman.

Marner's performances in the playoffs were mostly underwhelming, except for a few games towards the end. However, in game seven, he was directly responsible for David Pastrnak's overtime goal. On the play, it's obvious that his lack of effort led to the goal and he was widely criticized for it.
After the game, he refused to talk with the media, which raised further speculation. Considered to be a leader in the locker room, if Marner can't own his mistakes, even after a tough loss, it proves that he isn't made for the Leafs' market.
"Marner and Rielly not addressing the media after game 7 is a joke btw. 2 guys with letters make mistakes on the final goal and they can't even go out there and own it. Would not care if they were not back next year."
In a new episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman mentionned the possibility of seeing Marner leave the team who drafted him in 2015.
Here's what he said:
"Has he gotten to a point where he thinks, long term, it's just better for him to be somewhere else? He was tentative, he was nervous, during these playoffs, you could see it."

"Marner never really had a moment and now because of where we are in the calendar of his contract, that becomes white hot under the microscope."

"To me the number one question is what does he think? Does any part of him think that it's time?" asked Friedman. "But I do think it's possible that he will think about it. It doesn't mean that he comes right out and tell the Leafs 'Get me out of here' but I do think there will be a Marner collective, as in the people around him, conversation about 'Maybe is it better to go somewhere else?'"

"I don't know if he's gonna say that publicly, it's probably not in his best interest to say that publicly. I do think on some level, especially the people who represent him, you're not doing your job if you at least say 'Mitch would this be better for you?"

"They go could full scorched earth," said Friedman. "They could say 'Not only are we not offering you what you want, but were thinking maybe it's better if we just use the cap room.' And they can say 'If you don't wanna play ball with us that's fine, we can play it out next year, but what that means is you're not gonna get your extension here and you're not gonna get your 8th year.'"

"People are saying there's nothing the Maple Leafs can do and it's not true," added Friedman. "They can force the situation and say 'Look guys, this is what we are going to do, this is how we are going to handle it, and you can decide to work with us now or you can decide to make your decision later."

"I think that's kind of where we are right now."
Do you think Mitch Marner played his last game with the Toronto Maple Leafs?

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