Insider: Maple Leafs Want to Know What Marner's "Stay-Home Number" Is

15 hours ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner have been cruising along this season, with neither side seeming to be too worried about the fact that the All-Star forward is a pending unrestricted free agent on July 1. But according to insider Darren Dreger, speaking on TSN's Overdrive on Wednesday, we're still at the calm-before-the-storm stage. He says that Toronto management is going to want to know where things really stand soon enough, however, even though Marner "is never going to be a trade pawn on March 7th (the deadline), he's just not" says Dreger.I'm sure that the preference of (GM) Brad Treliving will be that Darren Ferris (Marner's agent) gives him a call, and says 'Hey, why don't we get together when you get back off the road, and let's have a conversation... I think that Brad would want to know what Marner's "stay-home number" is...I think that the heat turns up in Toronto after the 4 Nations (Cup tournament later this month). Dreger goes on to add that he'd be surprised if the Leafs aren't expecting at least a $13 million AAV over eight years. "That's Toronto's stomach. How much more is Mitch going to get on the open market? Maybe a lot more if he wants to play outside of his hometown, and is (okay) to play on a team that isn't as close to winning a Stanley Cup as the one he's currently with."Now that salary cap projections for the next few seasons have been revealed, agents can start calculating their 'percentages of the cap', and have a better idea of what they'll be asking for. So it's reasonable for the Leafs to expect to be able to start talking some real numbers. And make no mistake, they want to get a deal done with the hometown kid, if it's within reason. Will an extension get done before the end of the season? Ferris, Marner's agent, "likes to march his top free agents to free agency," notes Dreger, ominously. So during that period between February 20th (end of the 4 Nations) and March 7th (trade deadline), we can expect things to get pretty interesting. "And if they don't engage between now and March 7th or the playoffs, the conversation (about alternatives on the UFA market) is going to get more and more loud, and that's just going to make things more uncomfortable for Marner and the group."Photo: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images...

Read Full Article.