Carolina Hurricanes
Maple Leafs Explored Several Mitch Marner Trade Scenarios Before His Exit
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman revealed some of the trade talks Toronto had involving Mitch Marner over the years.
Mitch Marner’s extremely well-documented return to Toronto goes down tomorrow, Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, as the Maple Leafs host the Vegas Golden Knights.
After relatively little talk about Marner throughout the first three months of the season in Toronto, the last few weeks have thrust the longtime Maple Leaf back into the spotlight as the two teams meet twice in the span of eight days. As a result, more details are emerging about how the Marner era ultimately went sideways — which, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, included various trade discussions along the way.
In a recent article, Friedman revealed that the Maple Leafs held trade talks with both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Golden Knights, with Martin Necas, Shea Theodore, and Alex Pietrangelo among the names discussed as potential returns.
“Toronto did investigate trade options. Carolina offered Martin Necas, but the Maple Leafs did not think Marner would waive for the Hurricanes.
There were discussions with Vegas, who did not want to part with Shea Theodore. Alex Pietrangelo’s name came up, but the Maple Leafs decided not to pursue him because of the health concerns that sadly shortened his career. (I don’t believe he was ever asked to consider it.),”
The 28-year-old Marner, of course, landed in Vegas via a sign-and-trade in exchange for Nicolas Roy before signing an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Golden Knights this summer. He’s had a productive first season out west, having tallied 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) in 48 games.
Will the Maple Leafs Regret Not Trading Mitch Marner Years Ago?
In short, yes — how could they not?
Unless the Maple Leafs are able to fully weaponize the cap space freed up by essentially letting Marner walk, they’ll inevitably regret not getting a haul for him years before his free-agent season.
Toronto lacks puck-moving defensemen — aside from waiver-wire pickup Troy Stecher and sometimes Morgan Rielly — and that’s an issue that’s haunted them for years now. Had the Leafs been more willing to move Marner two or three years ago, they almost certainly could have addressed that need, and likely added depth and/or youth up front as well, leaving the roster in a far better spot than it’s in now.
It’s all hindsight at this point, but hearing past trade chatter surface now only reinforces just how valuable an asset Marner was — and how much losing him for nothing stings, even if both sides desperately needed a fresh start.
Next: Latest NHL Trade Buzz: Oilers, Maple Leafs, Jets
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