Did Marner’s Past Negotiation Push the Maple Leafs to Move Him?

Mitch Marner is a great young player. Marner has also long been a cornerstone of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This season, he’s on track for a career year where he’ll likely score more than 100 points. However, recent rumors that the Maple Leafs were willing to move him in a trade for Mikko Rantanen have sparked some interesting questions. What is Marner’s future with the team?

Even more to the point, could it be that past contract negotiations—and the ongoing challenges surrounding them—were a factor in the team’s willingness to explore moving him?

Marner and His Agent, Darren Ferris, Have a History of Hard Bargaining

Marner’s contract negotiations have been some of the most tumultuous in recent years. His agent, Darren Ferris, is known for driving a hard bargain, and during Marner’s last contract talks, there was a great deal of public drama surrounding the holdout and final deal. As the Maple Leafs star winger approaches another contract negotiation, it’s clear that managing Marner’s contract is no easy task.

The prospect of dealing with the ongoing negotiations this time might even point to Marner pushing for a larger salary (potentially surpassing Matthews’ contract). Given what has happened in the past, could avoiding that drama have been a factor in the Maple Leafs’ willingness to consider a trade?

Would Rantanen Have Been a Smoother Solution than Marner?

On the other hand, Mikko Rantanen was straightforward in his contract situation. He signed an eight-year, $12 million contract extension with the Dallas Stars without the drawn-out drama of a holdout or constant contract negotiations. That could have appeared as an attractive option for the Maple Leafs.

Acquiring a high-end forward like Rantanen could relieve the pressure of another tough negotiation with Marner, especially considering Matthews’ contract looms in the background.

Could The Contract Negotiations Have Been the Reason?

If the Maple Leafs were indeed willing to move Marner for Rantanen, could part of it have been tied to the stress of negotiating with Marner’s agent? While the team recognizes his value, there’s no denying that negotiating with Ferris, especially if Marner’s agent takes the same tactics as before, could create unnecessary tension.

If the deal were in the bank, moving on from the potential problem of re-signing Marner for a player like Rantanen, who had already agreed to a contract, would have made life much easier. The rumor is that Rantanen was ready to sign with the Maple Leafs.

While negotiating contracts is part of a GM’s work, no one wants to feel as if they were being held hostage in a negotiation. It would also sap time and energy from dealing with other roster moves. Moving Marner out would have allowed the Maple Leafs to focus their energy on other needs without the looming cloud of another potential contract standoff.

The Bottom Line for the Maple Leafs

No one knows for certain, but logic suggests the possibility that past contract negotiations might have impacted Marner’s future with the Maple Leafs. It only makes sense that the organization might have wanted to avoid such a confrontation.

If the Maple Leafs were looking for a smooth contract process and less drama, exploring a trade for Rantanen would have made sense. It would have helped the team been a way to avoid the same headaches that came with Marner’s previous deals. The question remains whether this will affect Marner’s long-term future in Toronto—something that will certainly play out as contract talks loom.