TSN: Chris Johnston, Jonas Siegel and Brian Hayes talking about how the Mitch Marner situation got to this point, and how the sides are talking but they’re not negotiating.
** NHLRumors.com transcriptions
Jonas Siegel: “CJ, this is an impossible question because it’s theoretical, but I gotta ask you anyway, because I know you can handle it. If, at the beginning of the season, Marner, his agent, whoever, comes out and say, ‘We’re doing exactly what Vladi Guerrero is doing right now, not negotiating in season.’ Does any of this happen?
Johnston: “Hmmm.
Siegel: “It might not right, because, like, if the leaf No, like, you know what, they don’t want to do this in season. Well, we have to leave it until the off season if we want to sign him. Does this even happen?
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Johnston: “Well, I think it still happens, though, Jonas because of it, basically, without anyone saying it out loud, March 7th was a deadline. Because teams don’t usually negotiate with players that are, you know, in the position of Mark after the deadline. And so March 7th was the deadline here.
It’s different than Vladimir, where it was the start of, you know, spring training, heading into his last year as under contract, but the same idea. And the same conditions would have been a place if you know, Darren Ferris, Mitch Marner had of said it was September 17th, or whatever the first day of camp was. I mean, the truth was, he still had a no-movement clause. And so while they would have maybe made their pitch to sign him.
You know what’s different in this situation, and I can’t say this clearly or loudly, Mitch Marner has not been willing to discuss a contract yet. Like this isn’t a failed contract negotiation. There has been no negotiation. And that’s Mitch Marner’s right. I mean, when you’re in his situation, honestly, he’s taken on a lot of risk by doing it that way.
What most players do in his circumstances, whether they’re third liners or first line stars, as he is, as most players, want to opt for security. They want to sign as soon as they can. They want to make sure, just in case, it’s a bad year, it’s an injury, whatever it could be. He’s taken it upon himself to have this season while not negotiating.
And so I think there’s been tons of dialog. It’s not as though there’s the phone line isn’t being picked up on one side. But they haven’t actually got down to brass tacks. It’s not like there’s offers going back and forth and they can agree.
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I mean, and so that’s what’s different with Vladi in the Blue Jays. I mean, the Jays tried to sign Vladi. They didn’t want to pay his price. That’s fine.
In this case, it’s not. It’s not a circumstance that the Leafs didn’t want to pay Mitch Marner’s price. They don’t know his price. They could guess it. We can all guess it. But they, it’s not, it’s not a case where he asked for something they didn’t give him. They have not negotiated yet.
And so I think that we have to underline that point. Mitch Marner side to this, to this date has said we need more time. We want to take this through. He wants to see things for the rest of the season, the way we’ve all thought maybe the Leafs might want to.
And so again, it doesn’t, mean it can’t happen, but there’s not really been, there’s not been a back and forth here. There’s been conversation, but there hasn’t been negotiation.
Siegel: “But I guess if I was the Leafs and I knew, like, it almost would be like, like you’re talking to a wall, a little bit. Like, if you’re not getting responses back, it would just be frustrating. Whereas, if there’s just, we’re not talking about this in-season, it’s not frustrating. Like, I like, I don’t know if they’re frustrated. I would be frustrated if it’s like, ‘Haye’s what do you want? You’re like, oh, I don’t know. We’ll see.’ And it just kind of, you know, I mean, CJ, it’s just kind of like a one way conversation. And I don’t know, like, it just feels like there’s a greyness to this whole thing well, is unnecessary.
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Brian Hayes: “But I also would say, if I’m in the Marner camp, I’m playing that role. If this is a poker game, and every negotiation can be that. Doesn’t always have to be it. I mean, that’s what frustrates a lot of Leafs fans. I think it’s like, if you want to be here and the least want to engage in conversation, then to be knock it out and let’s put this behind everyone and move on.
Is if I’m in the Marner camp, I’m like, these guys keep calling me and wanting to negotiate. They’re the ones that look desperate, not us.
Siegel: “Yes, your leverage kind of grows.
Hayes: “Well, I think it appears to me, CJ, tell me if I’m wrong, I think the Marner camp looks at this and goes, there’s nothing that’s going to happen between now and June 30th that is going to make the Leafs hang up their end of the phone.
They’re not, they’re not, they’re not going to come back, and again, I said this earlier today. I think the least could get swept in the first round. Marner could go pointless. And the Leafs would still say, eight years, #$13 million. You know, what are we doing here, guys? I don’t, I think the Leafs have made that clear, CJ. like, if they’re trying to negotiate the playoffs and the performance there seems to me to be irrelevant.
Johnston: “Yeah, because Mitch has something,that there’s not a lot of Mitch’s in the league, right? However, many players you might think there is 10-12, even close to the same kind of caliber. And how often those players come free? It’s almost never.
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And so, you know, he has something that they can’t readily replace. We might sit here, we could spend the next three years of, you know, the three hour time slot, talking about, ‘hey, what could they get instead of him?’ And, like, look at all those, those conversations will happen if they’re relevant. But they can’t get him, if he Leafs, not not next year, not right away. Like, it’s almost impossible.
And so, you know, that’s, that’s where we’re at. You’re right. I agree with you, Brian, in that if, even if, this playoff doesn’t go well for the team, for Mitch firstly, whatever it may be. I don’t think his position to negotiate is that much weakened.
You know, I don’t know what the organization, I don’t know how they view all this. I mean, obviously, right now, they’re trying to manage it. You know, you don’t have Brad Treliving going from the cameras unscripted yesterday, take one question and leave. Like they’re still, they’re figuring this out in real time, right?
Like, I that the hard part for me to gage is, is there a point where they get frustrated with this. Where they do, like, is there a point where their view on this changes? I mean, that’s a little bit of an unknown.
But, I mean, they understand what Mitch Marner is. They love the guy as much as the deepest Leaf fan out there. They want to sign them. And, in fact, I think they want to reset a market for him. I think they’re willing to pay him an amount that that hasn’t been done in the past. Because we’re in a rising cap environment, and he’s, he’s in a great position to negotiate that.
But they first have to get down to the, sit at the table with them, and that hasn’t happened yet. And that’s, that’s the other part of this that makes the whole thing a little unusual, you know, and so I don’t know where it goes next. I think that’s why the story is so compelling and it’s not, you know, it doesn’t end today.
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