Leafs Mitch Marner trade talks heating up with Nashville

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Ryan Hall
May 12, 2024 (3:40 PM)

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The defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Boston Bruins in Game 7, has set off a chain of events that will make the Maple Leafs look quite different going into next year. Rumors of trade talks have been heating up over the past 48 hours which has led Leafs Mitch Marner heading to Nashville.

After the Maple Leafs had fired Sheldon Keefe as their head coach, Leafs management took to the cameras on Friday morning and told the world that the team will look vastly different in that winning is all that matters. The message continued to be hammered that the Stanley Cup is the only option going forward.

Moving Marner will be a messy divorce

Unzipping the Core 4 will not be easy as Leafs captain John Taveras holds a no movement clause which will be unlikely the Leafs will ask to waive as he has stated his intentions are to remain with the Maple Leafs at least till the end of his deal. It would be a big ask for management to ask him to waive as he currently holds an $11 million cap hit going into next season and he left a year of term on the table to join the Leafs. He will be on his final season of his deal and will likely be asked to a huge discount to stay with the team.

Marner, is a very different option as he also holds a no move clause but it's likely the team will ask him to waive it. There's a lot of money at stake for Marner and this could be a very messy divorce as there is a possibility he will not do what's asked. It would put a huge strain on both parties and be a major distraction going into next season.

A deal between the Nashville Predators and the Maple Leafs for Marner would certainly have Juuse Saros coming back in return as general manager Brad Treliving stated that goaltending will be a primary need.

It's quite clear that the Maple Leafs are entering a new era with a different direction. It will remain to be seen how much change the Leafs management will do and who will be their new head coach going forward.