NHL analyst links Mitch Marner to Avalanche, $1.85B franchise; lists possible reasons for influencing decision on future

Mitch Marner's future will be the hottest topic in hockey over the next several weeks.

The Markham, Ontario, native is a pending UFA, having just completed the sixth season of his six-year, $65,408,000 contract extension signed with the Maple Leafs in 2019.

His nine years in Toronto have been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. His regular-season production has been tremendous, and he's established himself as one of the premier wingers in the NHL. On the flip side, Marner has never been able to get it done in the playoffs and has taken a ton of heat from the fan base for those shortcomings.

All signs point to a parting of ways this summer, as both Marner and the Maple Leafs look for a fresh start. The question now becomes, where does the superstar winger take his talents? One NHL analyst is suggesting Western Conference powerhouses in the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, worth $1.85 billion per Forbes.

ESPN writer Greg Wyshynski appeared on The Sheet with Jeff Marek on Wednesday morning and shared his take on Marner's future. The Sheet Hockey shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter).

"I don't want Mitch Marner to go someplace where he has to be the guy. Like, I would rather see him in Vegas. I would rather see him in Colorado. I would rather see him someplace where there are some, for lack of a better term, adults in the room that may or may not have a ring on their finger who have done this before, where Mitch doesn't have to be the guy fake yelling at the team and then doing nothing," Wyshynski said.

Marner racked up a career-best 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 81 games played during the 2024-25 regular season.

Mitch Marner appears ready to move on from Toronto

While the Toronto Maple Leafs were attempting to re-sign Mitch Marner to another long-term deal this season, the interest may not have been mutual.

Leafs Latest shared an interesting nugget on their contract negotiations provided by Jonas Siegel in an article for The Athletic on X.

"The Leafs attempted to sign Mitch Marner to a contract extension during the season. The organization chose not to wait and see how the postseason played out. They wanted Marner to stay. If they had signed him to an eight-year deal, it would have marked the largest contract in franchise history... He declined," Leafs Latest wrote.

Mitch Marner has been the whipping boy in Toronto for several years now, so it's hard to fault him for wanting to move on and get a change of scenery.

He will undoubtedly be the most coveted UFA of the 2025 offseason, and you have to expect a vast majority of the league will be kicking the tires to acquire his services.