The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs were a disaster for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with Mitch Marner's pending free agency in 2025, the past few months have been a media storm in Toronto. There have been constant reports of Marner potentially being traded, while other reports suggest he's re-signing long-term, and now, it's having an effect on their free agency efforts.
According to Elliotte Friedman, not only is the situation filling potential free agents with unease over who will be on the roster alongside them if they sign in Toronto, but it's also scaring them off from the already intimidating media presence.
On day one of free agency, Toronto landed Chris Tanev, Jani Hakanpaa, Anthony Stolarz and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, so they've clearly done well already, and while we don't know who they've potentially missed out on, it's become clear that the situation needs to be resolved, one way or another.
