Photo credit: Dan Hamilton – USA Today Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs may already have a plan for how they’ll spend their cap space if Mitch Marner ends up walking as a UFA next summer.

The Toronto Star’s Nick Kypreos took to his platform to discuss Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner and where things currently stand between the player and the team. The expiring contract hangs over his head like a dark cloud and after a solid start to the season, Marner is reminding us all of the intangibles he brings to the table.

However, it’s not a secret that the Maple Leafs thought about trading the winger this summer, providing he was willing waive his no-movement clause. The rumours were rampant, trade talks seemed to be happening, and both sides were more than willing to find greener pastures if the situation made sense. Eventually, the Leafs weren’t able to find a suitor willing to cough up what they were looking for and Marner remained a Maple Leaf.

This week, Kypreos pondered that the Leafs essentially have 2 options on the table; they either re-sign Marner or they let him play out his contract for one final playoff run, a situation akin to Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning last year. The Lightning let Stamkos walk when they didn’t find value for the team in meeting his contract needs. In the end, they replaced him with Jake Guentzel

Kypreos believes the Leafs could do something similar when it comes to Marner. With players like Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett available, provided they actually hit the open market, the Leafs certainly have some options.
“Tampa Bay’s backup plan all along was to replace the money for Stamkos with free-agent Jake Guentzel’s new contract. A similar scenario could play out for Toronto with pending free agents such as Mikko Rantanen, Sam Bennett or Brad Marchand, providing they are still available on July 1.”
 

It’s hard to see that coming to fruition, but Kypreos adds that Rantanen and the Avalanche are far apart in contract negotiations with the club reluctant to give him anything near Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million and the Bruins have yet to discuss an extension with the veteran Marchand.

There’s a lot of season remaining and the playoffs will be extremely telling, but it seems very difficult to imagine a scenario where the Leafs find a trade partner ahead of the trade deadline, especially with Marner holding all of the cards. It’s also much more likely they come together to find common ground and get a deal done, especially if Marner matches or exceeds his production from last year when he scored 85 points in 69 games.

Anything can happen as we’ve seen Vegas pull rabbits out of their hats on a yearly basis, but it’s going to be an interesting year for Marner and the Leafs, considering his standing with the team and his status as a core piece.