NHL insider believes Leafs will make terrible mistake signing Mitch Marner

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Daniel Lucente
October 1, 2024 (7:24 PM)

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NHL insider Frank Seravalli said the Leafs would be making a massive mistake if they paid Mitch Marner the salary he's asking for in a contract extension.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have kept their Core Four intact for years now, finding tremendous regular-season success. However, in the postseason, they've been able to get out of the first round only once. As time goes by, fans become more and more frustrated, wondering just what it is going to take for the Leafs to make an actual run in the postseason. According to one NHL insider, overpaying for talent isn't an answer.

NHL Insider Frank Seravalli joined the 'DFO Morning Cup of Hockey' show to explain that if there's one bad decision for the Maple Leafs to make, it's overpaying for Mitch Marner. Marner, poised to hit free agency, is likely to ask for an absurdly high amount of cash, but Toronto will have to be careful not to give away too much of their precious little cap space.

While Marner has been one of the league's best his whole career, dating back to being selected fourth overall in 2015 with 639 points in 576 games, his playoff presence can sometimes leave much to be desired in high-pressure situations like Game 7s. Committing $11-12 million to Marner would be quite dicey with other pressing roster needs.

Toronto has a financial puzzle to piece together, as their key players, such as John Tavares, who expressed his desire to stay with the Leafs for the long haul, need to be re-signed. With this wealth of offense, perhaps the wiser thing for the Leafs to do would be to invest in other areas of need, like goaltending or defense. They also have to keep in mind the future extensions, including that of emerging talent Matthew Knies.

In the end, though, it's a long-term view that needs to be taken into consideration about Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs. There is such a thing as too familiar a face in the lineup if it means overspending to keep him there for the express purpose of building a championship team.