NHL insider weighs in on Mitch Marner, John Tavares & Matthew Knies' Maple Leafs futures amid looming free agency decision

The offseason is in full swing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

We are now more than a week removed from the Game 7 debacle in front of their home fans against the Florida Panthers on May 18. In recent days, we've learned that Brendan Shanahan is gone, while Brad Treliving and Craig Berube are staying, and now the focus shifts to the players on the ice.

The Maple Leafs have several marquee players whose contracts are expiring, and they must decide who will remain a part of their future plans. Mitch Marner and John Tavares are UFAs, while Matthew Knies is an RFA.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke down the latest he's hearing regarding some of Toronto's key pending UFAs during Monday's episode of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast." Friedman shared the link to the podcast on X (formerly Twitter).

"I think now we're going to start to see the Maple Leafs figure out what their off-season could look like. Tavares, there was a lot of talk about how he wants to stay, and they want him to stay, as long as neither side is unreasonable. You have to believe a deal gets done here. Tavares obviously can't ask for $8 million a year, and I don't think if the Leafs offer $1 million a year, it's gonna work. But there is something here that I think both sides can be happy with, and it's just a matter of getting there." Friedman said (58:40).

"Marner, I think, first of all, you know, there's a lot of noise, obviously. I think, first of all, the Maple Leafs are gonna ask for clarity. Just where is this going? Is it 100% you are testing free agency on July 1, or is there any conversation that can be had here? And that's what I think they'll do: they'll ask that first and see what the answer is and go from there." Friedman added.

Mitch Marner just completed the final season of his six-year, $65,408,000 contract extension with the Maple Leafs, while John Tavares just played out the final season of his seven-year, $77,000,000 contract in Toronto.

Friedman dove into where things stand between the Maple Leafs and Matthew Knies

Elliotte Friedman also provided a brief update on a potential contract extension for pending RFA Matthew Knies.

He shared the link to the podcast on X.

"There's a lot of talk about Matthew Knies. I think the Maple Leafs are well aware of the possibility of an offer sheet. I don't believe they'll let it get there. I think around the trade deadline, when they had to decide if they were going to move Knies or how they were going to reshape their roster, I think there were some preliminary conversations about what an extension would look like. So I think they kind of know where they're going here." Friedman said.

Matthew Knies just finished the last season of his three-year, $2,775,000 entry-level contract signed with Toronto in 2023.

The 22-year-old is expected to receive a substantial pay raise this summer, and as Friedman mentioned, the Maple Leafs hope to have it resolved before other teams can even consider an offer sheet.