Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs don't have a guaranteed future together. They have been together for the entirety of his eight-year hockey career, and both sides have shown interest in keeping the partnership going into the foreseeable future.
As these discussions progress, TSN hockey insider Darren Dredger has a positive update.
"A long-term extension is a possibility and I believe that's what Marner wants, Dredger said on Sunday. "I believe the Maple Leafs are interested as long as it makes long-term sense. Look at the limited options from Toronto's perspective. We know about the no-move clause. We know that he's going into the final year of his deal and beyond that you've got unrestricted free agency."
He did admit that if they don't get a long-term deal agreed to, things might get a little dicey at the trade deadline. That's when many pending free agents are moved even if they're on contending teams.
"I do think that there's a good appetite on both sides to get something done, and there's realization from the organization standpoint that Marner is going to get paid again, and he is going to get paid well," the insider continued.
Marner is in the final year of his six-year, $65 million contract.
Elliotte Friedman praises offseason work from Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner has reportedly been busy this offseason putting in work to recover and help the Toronto Maple Leafs get further in the postseason. According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the hockey star has taken his time off "extremely seriously."
“He knows this is all hovering around him, and he has been determined to have the best possible summer he can to be ready. Second, I believe he’s in Vail this weekend with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon,” Friedman said, via The Hockey News.
Friedman says the reports from those sessions with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon are that Marner looks "dynamite" and could be in for a big season.