When Brad Treliving took over as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he faced the daunting task of ensuring that the core of the team signed new contracts. He is gradually working on this task, but it is not an easy task. And it won’t be.
He initially took his time settling into his role and getting the team through the draft and free agent signings before embarking on big-money contract extensions. Auston Matthews signed a four-year, $53 million extension before the season started, while winger William Nylander took longer but ended up signing an eight-year, $92 million extension.
Next on Treliving’s list is winger Mitch Marner, who can sign an extension as early as the summer. The 26-year-old forward is in the penultimate year of a six-year contract that carries a salary of $10.9 million.
Journalist Elliotte Friedman said he believes this is the direction the team wants to go and that speculation about a departure is off.
“Their goal is to keep Marner. I have no doubt about that. I think they know Marner and Matthews want to play together,” Friedman said. “I believe it was talked about in the past when Matthews made it clear he wanted to play with Marner and Marner made it clear he was open to it.”
Through the 2025-26 season — the year Marner’s potential new contract would kick in — the Leafs will have roughly $27 million committed to seven players, a whopping amount even as the cap gradually increases.
“Ultimately, there will be negotiations and we’ll see where it goes. It won’t be until the summer at the earliest, though, because they’re not going to do it now. But I absolutely believe their long-term plan is to keep them together for a long time,” Friedman added.
Back in the summer, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox offered a look at what Marner’s next contract might look like. Using the 13.38% salary share his current contract carries and factoring in potential salary cap increases, the annual salary would likely exceed $12 million per season.
Another question mark is what the team will do with captain John Tavares, who has one season left on his $11 million-a-year deal and will also want a new contract at the same time as Marner.
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