Marner says goal is to remain with Leafs long term

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.

The 27-year-old scored 26 goals and 85 points in 69 games this past season but struggled in the post-season registering just three points in seven games in the first round against the Boston Bruins.

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.

Marner has a no-movement clause in his contract so the Leafs will have to navigate that when they consider Marner’s future.

“Yes, he has control over the situation with his no-move clause but I think there’s a couple of questions here. No. 1: How does he feel? Has he gotten to a point where he thinks long term it’s just better for him to be somewhere else?” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. “Now, because of where we are in the calendar of his contract, that becomes white-hot under a microscope. To me, the No. 1 question is, what does he think? Does any part of him think that it’s time?

“You have to always be careful with this because we’re 24 to 48 hours after the emotion of a tough defeat but I do think it’s possible that he will think about it. It doesn’t mean that he comes right out and tells the Leafs to get me out of here but at least there will be a Marner collective — the people around him — conversation about maybe is it better to go somewhere else. Now, I don’t know if he’s going to say that publicly, it’s probably not in his best interest to say that publicly. But I do think on some level, especially the people who represent him, you’re not doing your job if you don’t at least say, Mitch, would this be better for you?”

While Marner is expected to hold most of the cards with the no-move clause in his contract, Friedman believes there are avenues the Leafs can explore.

“No. 2 part of that equation is the organization. Do they think it’s time? Because yes, while Marner has the power of the no-move clause, the Maple Leafs’ power is to say, Look, we’re not offering you what you want… but we’re thinking it’s better if we just use the cap room,” Friedman said. “And they can say if you don’t want to play ball with us that’s fine, we can play it out next year and that means you’re not going to get your extension here and you’re not going to get the eighth year.”