Insider Issues Statement on Maple Leafs and Pending UFA Mitch Marner

Much of the talk surrounding the Maple Leafs right now seems to be about their extensive list of injured forwards and their ability to persevere and just keep winning in the face of adversity.

However, while these topics are at the forefront, there still exists a very important subject for discussion that had quieted a bit as of late.

Mitch Marner has elevated his game in the absence of Leafs captain Auston Matthews and about half a dozen other absent Maple Leafs. Coming into tonight's game against Utah, Marner has racked up 12 points in 7 games while Matthews has been on the sidelines, receiving treatment in Germany.

While those numbers are quite impressive, when you extend the timeline to include their last 12 games, Marner has racked up an impressive 19 points. Simply put, he's making a big, big statement in a contract year.

With much of the Marner contract talk having been tabled for the time being, the TSN panel decided to revive the discussion during tonight's broadcast.

While both Jeff O'Neill and Cheryl Pounder believing that the Leafs would be better served to wait on a Marner extension so that they can analyze his performance in the playoffs to determine the best course of action, Insider Darren Dreger seemed a lot more certain that getting Marner's new deal done in-season was a priority for both Marner and the team.

As far as what Marner deserves in terms of an AAV, a recent discussion between Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne got quite heated, with Bourne believing Marner likely wouldn't eclipse the $12M mark, while Kypreos was adamant that Marner could easily get something closer to Leon Draisaitl, upwards of $14M per season, if he went to the free agent market.

It's anyone's guess where the Marner deal finally lands, but with Dreger's comments on Sunday, it seems very clear that there's motivation from both sides to get this thing done to avoid any further distractions.

Marner currently leads the Maple Leafs with 26 points in 20 games thus far, excluding Sunday's game against Utah, of course. Marner has already scored twice in that one as well, hitting 28 points on the season and counting.