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The Toronto Maple Leafs endured another disappointing playoff run when they once again lost another seven-game series in the first round against the Boston Bruins. As a result, big changes are expected to be made this offseason, and while one of them has already been made, with Sheldon Keefe getting fired as the team's head coach and being replaced by Craig Berube, there are surely more on the way.
One guy who has found himself the subject of several trade rumors early on in the offseason is Mitch Marner, as he disappointed in Toronto's playoff series against Boston. The Maple Leafs are widely expected to move off of one of their big name players this offseason, but general manager Brad Treliving warned that the team simply isn't going to move Marner (or anyone for that matter) just for the sake of changing their roster up.
“The thing I would say is, be very, very careful of what you read out there. Mitch is a hell of a player. He’s going into the last year of his contract. We’re not going to comment on any players. Any business that we conduct, we’ll do that between Darren Ferris and us. We’re not going to do play-by-play on it. We’ve got to look at every possible way for our team to be better. Mitch controls a lot of this whole thing (with the no-trade). If there’s a way to make our team better, we’re going to do it. But we’re certainly not going to make a trade just so we can pound our chest and say, ‘Look, we’re different.'” – Brad Treliving, The Athletic
Brad Treliving's strong stance on Mitch Marner trade rumors
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Marner has been one of Toronto's top offensive players ever since he broke in with the team back in the 2016-17 season, and he is fresh off a 26-goal, 59-assist campaign with the team. However, his play in the postseason continues to leave a lot to be desired, as he had just one goal and two assists against Boston in his latest playoff series.
Fans were furious with Marner's disappearing act, and there was even footage of him, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander having a heated conversation on the bench that surfaced during Game 4 of the series. Of those three, Marner seems like the most likely guy to get traded, which is why he has been so heavily involved in rumors as of late.
As Treliving notes here, though, the team isn't going to move on from Marner just for the sake of doing so. He doesn't exactly shut these rumors down entirely, but he's letting it be known that if Marner does get traded, it's going to be for a price that benefits the team. This will halt the rumors a bit for the time being, but Marner's future with the team is going to remain one of the biggest storylines for the Maple Leafs this offseason.
