Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner isn’t coming around to reason

Mitch Marner is putting the Toronto Maple Leafs in a very awkward situation with his ridiculous contract demands.

For the second straight season, it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t going to be able to sign a young restricted free agent before the puck drops in October. All the latest talk about Mitch Marner suggests he is not willing to drop his insanely high asking price of over $10 million a year.

According to Darren Dreger, the Leafs would like to lock him up long-term for seven or eight years. Furthermore, Bob McKenzie is reporting the Leafs have made seven-year and eight-year offers to Marner, with each deal worth about $11 million annually.

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However, that’s not quite as much as his teammate Auston Matthews, who signed a five-year deal worth $11.634 million a year earlier this year. Marner’s not happy about it, according to McKenzie. A three-year deal appears to be the focal point according to McKenzie, but he wants the AAV (average annual value) to be in the $9 million to $10 million range.

A $9 million AAV over three years for any player is unprecedented in the salary cap era. The most expensive three-year deal given to a player with Marner’s status (first-time RFA) belongs to Marian Gaborik, who signed a three-year deal worth $6,333,333 annually.

Marner’s contract demands are far past reasonable. You could argue he should get more than Gaborik simply because the salary cap ceiling is higher now than it was back in 2006 when Gaborik signed his deal. A three-year deal worth $7 million to $8 million would be reasonable. It would reward Marner and allow the Maple Leafs to keep their Stanley Cup contending roster together.

$9 million to $10 million, though, is way out of line. The Leafs technically can afford it, but it’s much more than Marner should be getting. This puts general manager Kyle Dubas in an awkward position. He knows the Leafs need Marner to win the Stanley Cup. Yet Dubas doesn’t want to sacrifice the future outlook of the team to do so.

Wisely, Dubas isn’t giving in to Marner’s demands. He knows who truly owns the leverage in this situation – the Leafs. Marner can’t play anywhere else in the NHL unless someone trades for him or signs him to an offer sheet. An offer sheet would be a blessing at this point because it would provide concrete terms for a deal that the Leafs and Marner aren’t close to agreeing to.

The Leafs went through the same thing with William Nylander last season. However, that was different for several reasons. First of all, Nylander and his agent handled things professionally. He didn’t negotiate through the media like Marner and his agent are.

Secondly, Nylander never asked for an outrageous contract. He got a shade over $6.9 million annually, which was on the higher end of his reasonable asking price. Marner’s asking prices would either set records in the salary cap era or come dangerously close to it.

Thirdly, there’s been a lot more drama with Marner than Nylander. Everyone’s talking about Marner instead of how promising the Leafs roster is. This kind of drama can be distracting to a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. Even it’s just a one-year deal, Marner and the Leafs have to agree to something to stop this farce before it gets even more out of control.

Dubas is in an awkward situation, but it’s one he’s handled before. He was dealing with a reasonable party (Nylander) that time. But this time, Dubas is dealing with a much tougher opponent – Marner and his representation, who seem determined to make Marner one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, no matter what the cost.