Maple Leafs reporter makes wild suggestion regarding pending UFA Mitch Marner
One Maple Leafs reporter has made a bold, yet reasonable suggestion involving superstar winger Mitch Marner.
Last week, the Leafs introduced Auston Matthews as the new captain in Toronto as the new captain in Toronto, while confirming John Tavares as one of the team's new alternates. It is highly likely that Morgan Rielly will continue to have an 'A' on his jersey as the longest tenured Leaf, which leaves at least one 'A' up for grabs.
Given Marner's presence at the captaincy ceremony, it would appear he has the inside track to the third alternate captain gig, but Brad Treliving noted that nothing had been decided yet, which means that it's possible that Chris Tanev may wear an "A" for Toronto as well.
With that being said, Nick Alberga made a wild suggestion on 'Leafs Morning Take' today, commenting on the idea of having Marner go letter-less this season.
Alberga's comment took his co-host and former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill by surprise and it led to him asking if Alberga was serious about his comments.
Given the uncertainty around Marner's future beyond this season, it would make sense to have a leadership group that will be together beyond this season. Yes, Tavares is a free agent at the end of the season, but he will end up with an extension at some point. I believe that's all but expected at this point.
With the addition of Tanev, as well as William Nylander's eight-year deal kicking in, it would be more of a surprise to not see one of them be named an alternate.
Source: NHL.com Mitch Marner Stats
| POLL | ||
20 AOUT | 2026 ANSWERS Maple Leafs reporter makes wild suggestion regarding pending UFA Mitch Marner Who would you give the third 'A' to? | ||
| Tanev | 468 | 23.1 % |
| Nylander | 515 | 25.4 % |
| Domi | 270 | 13.3 % |
| Marner | 773 | 38.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
