Insider who broke every Seattle expansion pick says Mitch Marner done in Toronto
The insider who broke the entire Seattle Expansion draft before it happened, Frank Seravalli, is reporting that Mitch Marner is as good as gone this summer in Toronto.
Marner has become somewhat of a whipping boy in Toronto since the Leafs fell short of expectations in this year's playoffs, dropping a 7-game decision to the Boston Bruins, largely because of the optics of what had occurred in OT of Game 7, with Marner not picking up David Pastrnak just prior to the Bruins' game-winning goal.
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving's comments following the first round loss to Boston certainly made it seem more likely than not that the core would be broken up this summer and with Marner taking the brunt of the criticism, he has become to focal point of just about every trade discussion in Toronto.
This past week, Seravalli put the likelihood of Marner returning to the Leafs at around 5%, suggesting that there's a 95% chance that Marner will be on the move this summer.
Seravalli is not the only Insider who has suggested that Marner has played his last game as a Maple Leaf. Others have suggested that even if Marner does return, he likely will not be extended by the Leafs and will hit free agency next summer.
The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta has suggested that the Leafs are willing to flex their financial muscle and pay Marner his $7.25M signing bonus, due on July 1st, to maximize his potential trade value.
Obviously, there's a lot that can happen over the course of a summer, but as Seravalli and Pagnotta have reported, we may have seen the last of Marner as a Leaf.
If Marner's tenure in Toronto does come to an end this summer, he will be leaving having produced 194 goals and 639 points in 576 career NHL games.
| POLL | ||
MAI 31 | 490 ANSWERS Insider who broke every Seattle expansion pick says Mitch Marner done in Toronto Has Mitch Marner played his last game as a Maple Leaf? | ||
| Yes | 246 | 50.2 % |
| No | 244 | 49.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
