Speculation: NSH interested in Marner

[cyris]

I'm well aware the Leafs have no leverage with Marner.
But no, his NMC clause doesn't entitle him to the trade details.
We ask him if he's willing to accept a trade or not. If he is, he can provide us a list of acceptable destinations. After that, it's none of his business.
If he says no outright to providing a list, which I think is probable, then he's gonna be back next year and we move on from the idea.

His NMC absolutely entitles him to set whatever parameters he wants for the process. That is what a full NMC gets you. Especially on a deal 1 year from UFA status.

There is no scenario where he is traded without a strong say in the process. You would hope that he doesn’t want to know what the return is for himself because ultimately that is in no one’s best interest but if that is what he wants and you want to move on from him that is what he gets.

 

[Prettyisland]

Time to ditch the gritty and get to square dancing

 

[HFpapi]

I do agree with this largely. I think people are just sick of talking about our revolving door of mediocre, mentally fragile and often injured goaltenders while aspiring to be a contender.

My overwhelming preference is to move Marner for defense if he's leaving.

Absolutely.

I'm not even opposed to keeping Marner tbh (I may be in a big time minority there among Leaf fans) provided we could find a way to offload the Tavares contract instead.

That said, the ship has probably sailed from Marners side anyways as I doubt he wants to remain in Toronto long-term. If we deal him this off season it has to be for a top 4 D even in the value isn't totally favourable for us.

 

[BHawk21]

Possible destinations.

Nashville
Chicago
Anaheim
Montreal
Carolina
Detroit
Buffalo

Anybody else?

 

[REALTALK81]

I wouldn’t really call 50 points in 57 games disappearing. If that’s the case Matthew’s 48 points in 55 games and nylanders 43 in 54 games is just as bad. Marner has just became Torontos whipping boy and if I was him I would want to get out of Toronto

There are a lot of false narratives surrounding Marner. One is that he is a poor playoff performer (he has more points as a leaf than the other core 3). Another is that Toronto is actively trying to move him. There has been no substantiated evidence of this. Just useless drivel drummed up by the worst media in all of sports so they can keep the fans clicking on their articles. Even if there was, Marner has full control over any movement. One of the reasons why Toronto can't have nice things. They blew up "We want Florida" because 20 kids said it. They were harassing Reimers family to get an update on an injury. They chased countless players out of town for years. Guys like Larry Murphy went on to have spectacular careers after leaving this cesspool. If Mitch leaves, I wouldn't blame him when droves of dummies listen to Simmons, Dreger, Button like it's gospel.

 

[Fatass]

Disagree. We've sent plenty of instances where a player has been approached for trade or asked for trade themselves and it's been reported they provided a list of acceptable destinations to the team to find a deal. It really is a case by case and I think it boils mostly down to if Marner still wants to be here or not.

Again, I don't think Marner is likely going to waive so a lot of this is moot in general.

Again, not how it works with the NMC. Teams will call who have interest, like with this thread’s rumour. The Leafs will ask Marner if he’s willing to waive for any interested clubs. Marner will control the situation. He might say yes, but it will be only one club. The Leafs are in an awful situation here. Triliving should certainly not repeat the Matt Tkatchuk mistake. Way better to keep Marner
And I think they will.

Possible destinations.

Nashville
Chicago
Anaheim
Montreal
Carolina
Detroit
Buffalo

Anybody else?

Marner on the Habs would turn that club into a playoff team.

 

[seanlinden]

Marner is only signed to one more season too. But the number is 11M, not 5M.

Florida made is to the finals last year with Bob at 10M. Would you be surprised if they won the cup this year? The Leafs problem is they'll be paying 4 forwards 46.7M next year. That's 56% of the cap.

Correct. But Marner's "single season" value can be converted into assets that will be of value beyond next year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that we should run it back with the same 4 guys taking up half the cap. I'm also not criticising Saros as a goalie. I'm simply saying that if you're trading Marner, you should be looking for guys that have control and/or contract beyond this year......not goalies likely to make $8m when the vast majority of the recent evidence suggests that doing so puts you at a $3-4m disadvantage come playoff time.

As for the Panthers, yes, Bob got them to the finals last year, and very well could do so this year, but I also think it's important to look at the rest of the Panthers roster. They have done EXTREMELY well with their depth.

Matthew Tkachuk at $9.5m.
57 goals from Sam Reinhart at $6.5m.
34 goals from Carter Verhaege at $4.1m
Vladimir Tarasenko at $2.5m
Brandon Montour at $3.5m.
Gustav Forsling at $2.7m.
OEL at $2.25m.

The Leafs are already behind the 8-ball with Matthews being the league's highest paid player. They're already behind the 8-ball with Nylander overpaid by about $2m. They also don't have the luxury of being a no-state tax sun destination that Florida is when it comes to attracting guys to play for cheap.

 

[Sypher04]

Again, not how it works with the NMC. Teams will call who have interest, like with this thread’s rumour. The Leafs will ask Marner if he’s willing to waive for any interested clubs. Marner will control the situation. He might say yes, but it will be only one club. The Leafs are in an awful situation here. Triliving should certainly not repeat the Matt Tkatchuk mistake. Way better to keep Marner
And I think they will.


Marner on the Habs would turn that club into a playoff team.

It’s not a one size fits all situation. Could it go down how you say, sure. And it could go down how I’m saying. Or more likely none of it goes down and marner is a Leaf next year.

I’m not even really advocating moving Marner neceasarily and not for Saros. I’m open to a move if we see it, but JT really is the one that needs to come off the cap. Either way, to me, any plans to reallocate cap feel a year away still

 

[Fatass]

It’s not a one size fits all situation. Could it go down how you say, sure. And it could go down how I’m saying. Or more likely none of it goes down and marner is a Leaf next year.

I’m not even really advocating moving Marner neceasarily and not for Saros. I’m open to a move if we see it, but JT really is the one that needs to come off the cap. Either way, to me, any plans to reallocate cap feel a year away still

Agree the only real change we will see is the coach. The core will be back for one more year. Changes will come summer 2025 when JT and MM leave as ufas opening up 22 mil in cap space.
But if there is one trade out there that might be ideal it’s MM for Doughty.

 

[Cenzo_]

Why wouldn’t the return for a dynamic playmaking 90+ point winger wow? I and other Leafs fan have been dragging him through the mud but he’s still an amazing player.

Maybe because of that $10.9M cap hit for a player that leaves much to be desired when the going gets tough

 

[Warden of the North]

Treliving brought in Jones, no?

As a third goalie. Yes.

 

[Double Dion]

Correct. But Marner's "single season" value can be converted into assets that will be of value beyond next year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that we should run it back with the same 4 guys taking up half the cap. I'm also not criticising Saros as a goalie. I'm simply saying that if you're trading Marner, you should be looking for guys that have control and/or contract beyond this year......not goalies likely to make $8m when the vast majority of the recent evidence suggests that doing so puts you at a $3-4m disadvantage come playoff time.

As for the Panthers, yes, Bob got them to the finals last year, and very well could do so this year, but I also think it's important to look at the rest of the Panthers roster. They have done EXTREMELY well with their depth.

Matthew Tkachuk at $9.5m.
57 goals from Sam Reinhart at $6.5m.
34 goals from Carter Verhaege at $4.1m
Vladimir Tarasenko at $2.5m
Brandon Montour at $3.5m.
Gustav Forsling at $2.7m.
OEL at $2.25m.

The Leafs are already behind the 8-ball with Matthews being the league's highest paid player. They're already behind the 8-ball with Nylander overpaid by about $2m. They also don't have the luxury of being a no-state tax sun destination that Florida is when it comes to attracting guys to play for cheap.

So can Saros. I just don't understand the logic you're using that somehow a playoff dud who has never proven he can produce away from great talent should get back more than Saros. You're getting Saros and 6M in cap space. That's more than fair for Marner. I kind of even doubt Nashville would do that honestly.

If you're looking at the run last year and honestly don't think Bob was the biggest factor in it, then I think you either didn't watch or aren't being honest. Bob was the reason that team made the finals. His GSAE was off the charts.

 

[seanlinden]

So can Saros. I just don't understand the logic you're using that somehow a playoff dud who has never proven he can produce away from great talent should get back more than Saros. You're getting Saros and 6M in cap space. That's more than fair for Marner. I kind of even doubt Nashville would do that honestly.

If you're looking at the run last year and honestly don't think Bob was the biggest factor in it, then I think you either didn't watch or aren't being honest. Bob was the reason that team made the finals. His GSAE was off the charts.

No, he cannot. As a contending team, you don't trade for a guy with 1 year left with the hope of flipping him again.

It's not about getting more than Saros, less than Saros -- it's about not centering your Marner deal around a goalie who will likely command an $8m contract.

The logic is to use the Marner deal to get our version of Verhaege, or Montour, or Zacha, or Carlo, etc.

Signing Saros will put us $3 to $5m behind the 8-ball come playoff time when we run into at least 1, if not multiple goalies who perform as well as he does for $3 to $5m. He can be Hellebuyck, Vasilevsky, Sheseterkin, it doesn't even matter, paying any goalie that kind of money is likely going to come back and bite you come playoff time, unless you are spectacular and/or extremely lucky at managing the cap to performance ratio everywhere else on your team.

A guy like Saros will probably get you to the playoffs by giivng you 60 reliable games and no questions in goal... but come playoff team, some guy making half of what he does will end up going toe-to-toe with him. That's the reality of the playoffs.

Bob was absolutely a big reason they made the finals, but let's not kid ourselves and forget about their depth, incredible defensive play, and run through you like a locomotive approach.

Honestly, the best move the Leafs could probably make... I don't know if Conroy / Calgary could stomach it, but find a deal to get Markstrom at $2m retained, so a $4m, 2 year deal remaining. Perfect tandem for Woll this year and next. Beyond that, you'd hope that Hildeby would be ready to take the next step.

Failing that, even go out and get Cam Talbot. If Marner's going, use him to get guys younger than him, that can deliver value relative to their contracts, even if not matching his contribution. If Nashville is where he needs to go, Target Novak, Evangelista, even picks.

 

[REALTALK81]

Everyone is also looking at the Leafs to address their goaltending when the problem was scoring. How many goals did they have in the series? 10 goals in 7 games? Also, what does Saros playoff performances look like? Much like Samsanovs. Woll played much calmer than Ilya. I agree that they need a tandem but I wouldn't be looking at Saros at that price tag.

 

[Drytoast]

And was 6th, 3rd and 4th in Vezina voting the last three years. He's played exactly 350 games, if his size was going to be an issue it would have happened already.



Well if you're giving up Marner's 11M to take on Saros or Saros + that's the trade off. You'd be getting a work horse 60+ game Vezina caliber guy, those guys get 7-8M if you want them.

Has Soros ever played behind a team with a weak defense?

 

[Soundgarden]

Has Soros ever played behind a team with a weak defense?

Do you think Nashville's defense has been strong the last several seasons?

Because it's a lot different from the Josi-Ellis Ekholm-Subban years.

 

[Drytoast]

Do you think Nashville's defense has been strong the last several seasons?

Because it's a lot different from the Josi-Ellis Ekholm-Subban years.

I think they've always had a defensively strong team make up, yes

 

[ManofSteel55]

I would be shocked if Saros was included. It's one year of an overpaid star player who needs off his current roster. This is likely one of those scenarios where a package of players is the return, but I don't see a goalie being involved.

Does Nashville have a 2C / top 4 projected prospect? A lot of the good pieces seem to be on wing where Toronto also has incoming help.



I'm going to assume to maximize the return that Marner will give the green light on the location (waiving NMC) because he's willing to extend.

If he's a pure rental, yea - that limits the return.

Fully treating this as a guy that's moving on and will be extending where he lands at this point in time.

Why would Marner want to maximize the return? That just means more assets from his new team to his old team. He'll waive because he wants out, but he isn't going to do anything to "maximize" the return for the Leafs. He isn't going to let them know if he will re-sign there.

 

[Hockey 4 Life]

1st 2025
L'Heureux
Fabbro
Molendyk

For
Marner
Liljegren

 

[Habs Halifax]

Disagree. We've sent plenty of instances where a player has been approached for trade or asked for trade themselves and it's been reported they provided a list of acceptable destinations to the team to find a deal. It really is a case by case and I think it boils mostly down to if Marner still wants to be here or not.

Again, I don't think Marner is likely going to waive so a lot of this is moot in general.

I think there is a greater chance Marner waives than Tavares. The 2nd problem is if he waives, how many teams and do they have a contract to send the other way? Or do they have the cap space to add him.

Pretty sure if Marner waives, he waives to a contender. How many contending teams have cap space?

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Has Soros ever played behind a team with a weak defense?

Yes, the Nashville Predators. Talented individual defensemen (which we've had less and less of) do not make a good defense.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

1st 2025
L'Heureux
Fabbro
Molendyk

For
Marner
Liljegren

I don't think we have any "untouchables" but would be extremely surprised to see Evangelista, L'Heuereux, Molendyk, or Askarov moved out of our young players/prospects.

Saros + Tomasino + Fabbro?

 

[PeE eL DuBoiS]

Trading Marner for a goalie would be so stupid.

This years runaway Vezina winner (Hellebuyck) couldn't stop a beach ball in the playoffs. Last years Vezina winner isn't even the starter on his team anymore. Vasilevskiy was complete ass. Meanwhile, the cup winners last year were led by a random 3rd stringer and we have Silovs vs Pickard (who?) battling it out in the 2nd round. Sorokin looked like a world beater now he sucks.

Goaltending position is a total crap shoot these days. Gone are the days of stable, rock solid #1's like Brodeur, Roy, Belfour, Hasek, Joseph, etc.

We risk losing a 100 point winger who is good defensively just to potentially end up with yet another keeper with a .901 sv% and 3.08 gaa.

Anderson looked good for Toronto, then trash, now good again for Carolina. I have no faith in this position to be giving up a premium asset for it.

I'd have no more faith in Askarov or Sarros than I do in Woll next year.

I understand not wanting a goaltender back and agree they're a dice roll in the playoffs. But how can you have any more faith that Marner shows up in the playoffs? He's not even a roll of the dice. He's a known turd.

 

[Bruce Granville]

Yeah, don't get a goalie. Tampa winning back to back cups with their 10M guy sure proves that.

Firstov, he makes only 9.5M.
Secondly, the first cup came with a 3.5M cap hit.

 

[Hockey 4 Life]

I don't think we have any "untouchables" but would be extremely surprised to see Evangelista, L'Heuereux, Molendyk, or Askarov moved out of our young players/prospects.

Saros + Tomasino + Fabbro?

For me If I'm the Leafs I need L'Heuereux in that trade so maybe swap him with tomasino.