Toronto Maple Leafs GM on UFAs Mitch Marner and John Tavares, and RFA Nick Robertson
Mike Ziesberger of NHL.com: Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving on pending UFA Mitch Marner:
“We’ve had communication,” Treliving said Thursday. “I’d probably describe it unless there is significant change here, I would anticipate he’s going to hit the market.
“And we’ll see. We’ll see where things go.”
With Marner likely gone, they’ll then turn to try and better themselves, but it’s not easy.
“You’re trying to make your team better and you’ve got the potential there to lose a really good player,” he continued. “So there’s lots of challenges. But we try to look at it as using those opportunities as well, right? That’s the job.
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“Everybody’s focused on July 1, and I get it. We don’t play on July 2. So you can use the time on July 1 to try to make your team better. And that may come on July 1. It may come Aug. 1, Sept. 1. You’re not sure. So you continue to work the market. But certainly some challenges. Really good player.
“And I think I’ve said this before too. There’s not a Mitch Marner tree you go to and just replace him. If that indeed happens, we will continue to look at ways that we can help ourselves.”
There has been lots of talk between the Maple Leafs and John Tavares. Things have been positive, but a deadline is fast approaching.
“As I think we said at the end of the year, you’ve got a player who we both expressed a shared outcome. Which is, John wants to stay, and we want to keep John. And like any other contract, there’s usually only two little stumbling blocks: term and money. Once you get by those, things tend to flow pretty quick. So we’re moving, hopefully, in a direction to bring it to closure.
“My hope is, until proven otherwise, that we’ll have a good outcome there.”
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Mark Masters: Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving on pending RFA forward Nick Robertson: “He’s still a young player (23). He’s still an evolving player … He shoots it in the net & that’s a good skill-set to have. We’ll see how it all plays out. We’re early days here.”
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