Everyone would love to have a player like Mitch Marner, but who is realistically in the sweepstakes?
TSN: Chris Johnston, when asked about how many teams are realistic contenders for Toronto Maple Leafs pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner.
Reda: “How many teams do you think realistically could be in the Marner sweepstakes?
Johnston: “Well, I’d start with at least 20 that are making phone calls and are going to be examining if there could be a fit there. Now, my understanding of what Mitch Marner wants from this process, obviously, coming off his best season and with a rising cap, he’s going to be looking for a raise. No surprise there.
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He’s going to be looking to go to a place that you know, he’s going to have a chance to win in, in the window that he’s signing. So, not necessarily limited to just the top tier contenders of this moment, but teams that are headed in the right direction, I think, you know, are going to be the sort of places he’s looking at.
And then obviously, like any player, he’s going to want to go to the most attractive destination. So that’s why you’re hearing, you know, talk about Florida, about Vegas, you know, some of the excellent weather, organizational and tax markets that exist in the league.
But you know, I think that the list goes beyond that. Because what does a team like Colorado do, for example, after losing Mikko Rantanen, and I would not be surprised at all, they’re a team that ends up bidding for Mitch Marner.
And so I think it’s a little premature to say it’s only going to be these three or these four or these five teams. Because I think part of this process for Marner, as well as having a chance to imagine other opportunities to maybe, you know, look at some of the places that aren’t maybe that the more obvious destinations as well.
And so, you know, it’s going to be a pretty compelling free agent pursuit, assuming that it does get there and that he hasn’t signed an extension.
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