Mitch Marner offer sheet talk is not going to settle down until this story breaks one way or the other, and in the meantime we’re left piecing together what might or might not be true about this ugly negotiation.
It’s no secret that TSN’s Darren Dreger has been the main conduit for Marner’s side of this, and we’ve heard in the past that his camp would look at other teams and whether or not they want to pony up with more money than the Leafs can. Of course that’ll likely come in the form of an offer sheet if it does happen, and apparently Marner and his agent is committed to the bit. Like, really going for it.
An offer sheet can’t be signed until July 1st, as the RFA schedule follows the same line as that for UFAs. But that also means that the “shopping window” that opens on June 26th can be used by restricted free agents as well. It’s the window the Leafs used to talk to Tavares last summer, finally putting together a contract when the “official” free agency period opened a few days later.
June 26th is Wednesday. Five days from now.
It’s still hard to get a handle on whether this stalemate is going to get that far, but with that fast-approaching date in mind, things could get very touch-and-go when that window opens. Consider the types of reports and interviews we’re seeing now, and then imagine how it’ll ramp up when headlines like “Marner meets with the Islanders and Devils this afternoon” potentially start making the rounds.
But there’s still hope it never gets to that point. Kyle Dubas said as recently as last night that he hopes to get Marner, Johnsson and Kapanen locked in, and it’s been reported he will meet with Darren Ferris (Marner’s agent) this weekend in Vancouver where a formal offer could be in the cards. In fact it’s really looking like this weekend, draft aside, could shape up to be a major pivot point with this situation, because when Wednesday hits, who knows what chaos will come with it.
