It will be the theme of the summer again. Toronto was eliminated and did not deliver success again, so there is a lot of discussion about what the team will look like next season. Mitch Marner’s stay can be expected, he still has a contract and it will be difficult to change. Coach Sheldon Keefe isn’t going anywhere either.
Marner has one season remaining on the six-year, $65.358 million contract he signed in September 2019. He hopes his future in Toronto is long-term.
“That would be the goal,” Marner admitted. “I expressed my love for this place, for this city. Of course I grew up here. We’re going to start thinking about it now and try to figure something out.”
The forward can become an unrestricted free agent after next year, and this season he collected 85 points in 69 games (26 goals, 59 assists), but he was silent in the playoffs and was under a huge fire of criticism.
“Being on this team means everything to me,” Marner said. “The love you get from the fans here and the attention they give you is like no other.”
Since Game 5 of the 2023 first round against Tampa Bay, the Maple Leafs have scored more than two goals just once in 14 playoff games, in Game 2 this year. The only used power play out of 21 attempts, this is partly due to Marner, who is supposed to be the driving force and brain of the offense.
“It sucks,” Marner shrugged. “It’s still the same pain. It’s never fun when you finish this early. It’s not easy.”
Coach Sheldon Keefe was also supposed to get the offensive going. And of course he is also talked about. “We’re here to get results and we didn’t get them. We didn’t live up to expectations and as head coach I take responsibility for that,” he said.
Since replacing Mike Babcock as head coach on November 19, 2019, Keefe has led Toronto to a 212-97-40 record in the regular season. He ranks fifth in Maple Leafs history in wins.
That’s why when Brad Treliving took over as general manager last summer, one of his first steps was to sign Keefe to a two-year contract that runs through the end of the 2025/26 season. However, after another early end in the playoffs, it is expected that changes could be coming.
“I’m in the coaching business, and in the coaching business, you can’t decide your position,” Keefe said. “I can’t influence this, it’s beyond me. But I have a lot of confidence in myself. And I love coaching Toronto.”
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