After another short-lived playoff run, there will be many questions about the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ off-season plan and priorities.
For Mitch Marner, his desire is to remain with the team over the long term.
“That’d be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place. Obviously, I’ve grown up here so we’ll start thinking about that now and try to figure something out,” Marner told reporters at the team’s end-of-season availability. “It means the world (to be a Maple Leaf), we’re looked upon as you know kind of Gods here to be honest. It’s something that you really appreciate and the love that you get here from this fanbase and this tension is kind of not unlike any other. You saw it with the Raptors a couple of years ago, the love that they still have for a lot of those players that they had to trade off this year. And that’s kind of the love you want.”
Marner will be eligible to sign a contract this off-season as he enters the final year of a deal that carries a $10.9 million cap hit.
While the salary cap is projected to increase, there is concern as to whether the Leafs can fit a sizeable contract extension for Marner with Auston Matthews and William Nylander having their new deals kick in starting next season.
