Mitch Marner is not ready to think about his future.
The Toronto Maple Leafs forward said he is still processing the team’s Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers and hasn’t really thought about where he will be playing next season.
“I’ve always loved my time here. I’ve loved being here,” Marner said on the team’s locker clean-out day. “Like I said to you guys the other night, I have been so grateful and, you know, haven’t processed anything yet. It’s still so fresh and losing sucks.”
Marner will be a free agent on July 1st if he and the Leafs do not come to terms on a contract extension.
The 28-year-old will likely be the top target for many teams if he were to hit the open market after scoring a career-high 102 points this season.
When it comes to a timeline for when he could make a decision on his future, Marner said he isn’t going to rush into things.
“In the next couple of weeks, I’ll sit down with my wife and we’ll start talking,” Marner, who recently became a dad for the first time, said. “Trying to figure out what’s next.”
When it comes to his head coach, Craig Berube made it clear that he would like Marner to return with the team next season.
“I love the guy and love coaching him. I love his energy, personality. He’s a hell of a player,” Berube said about Marner. “You know, he does a lot for this team, night in, night out, in a lot of different areas of the game. So I got nothing but good things to say about him.”
