<p>The discourse surrounding Mitch Marner is getting somewhat uncomfortable for all parties involved, including reporters, the Maple Leafs and the player&#8217;s camp, but it&#8217;s arguably the most compelling storyline of the offseason.</p>
<div id="2106" class="bam-inline-promotion-block"></div>
<p>The Athletic&#8217;s Chris Johnston said on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-chris-johnston-show/id1586699460">The Chris Johnston Show</a> that the Maple Leafs have not made a decision one way or another on trading Marner, nor has his camp submitted a list of teams that he&#8217;d like to be traded to.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Leafs are not leaning on Mitch Marner right now,&#8221; Johnston said. &#8220;They have not decided 100 percent they have to trade him and or that they&#8217;re going to make life uncomfortable and they&#8217;re getting the list of names. None of that&#8217;s what&#8217;s going on.&#8221;</p>
<p>Johnston made it clear that Marner wants to remain with the Maple Leafs and there remains a possibility that he&#8217;ll be back with the team entering the 2024-25 season. Marner publicly reiterated his desire to remain with the franchise during the team&#8217;s end-of-season media availabilities and has never stated any intention to leave the franchise.</p>
<p>&#8220;The fact that Mitch Marner is willing to play this right out until next summer and potentially chase free agency then, I think it&#8217;s very possible that he remains a member of the Maple Leafs,&#8221; Johnston said. &#8220;It&#8217;s way too soon to declare that&#8217;s going to happen, I&#8217;m certainly not doing so.</p>
<p>&#8220;But they and he have to live with the fact that it&#8217;s going to be hard to line up something that satisfies everyone here. Is it a team and city that Mitch is comfortable with? Is it a trade return that makes the Leafs go, &#8216;you know what, while we&#8217;re in a Cup window, let&#8217;s pull the trigger on this deal!&#8217; At the end of the day, Mitch himself. He&#8217;s rather inclined to remain a Maple Leaf, so everyone should brace for the possibility he&#8217;s back with that team next season.&#8221;</p>
<p>Elliotte Friedman previously reported on <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/elliotte-friedman-on-mitch-marner-vegas-will-be-around-it">Leafs Morning Take</a> that the Vegas Golden Knights could be a team interested in pursuing Marner. It&#8217;s clear that the 27-year-old will have some value on the open market and some teams are looking to see if they can get a superstar entering their apex years at a discount rate.</p>
<p>Until Marner is traded, or the Maple Leafs sign him to a long-term extension, he will be a point of interest. It&#8217;s uncomfortable territory for all parties involved, but that&#8217;s the nature of modern professional sports.</p>


The discourse surrounding Mitch Marner is getting somewhat uncomfortable for all parties involved, including reporters, the Maple Leafs and the player's camp, but it's arguably the most compelling storyline of the offseason.
<div id="2106" class="bam-inline-promotion-block"></div>
The Athletic's Chris Johnston said on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-chris-johnston-show/id1586699460">The Chris Johnston Show</a> that the Maple Leafs have not made a decision one way or another on trading Marner, nor has his camp submitted a list of teams that he'd like to be traded to.

"The Leafs are not leaning on Mitch Marner right now," Johnston said. "They have not decided 100 percent they have to trade him and or that they're going to make life uncomfortable and they're getting the list of names. None of that's what's going on."

Johnston made it clear that Marner wants to remain with the Maple Leafs and there remains a possibility that he'll be back with the team entering the 2024-25 season. Marner publicly reiterated his desire to remain with the franchise during the team's end-of-season media availabilities and has never stated any intention to leave the franchise.

"The fact that Mitch Marner is willing to play this right out until next summer and potentially chase free agency then, I think it's very possible that he remains a member of the Maple Leafs," Johnston said. "It's way too soon to declare that's going to happen, I'm certainly not doing so.

"But they and he have to live with the fact that it's going to be hard to line up something that satisfies everyone here. Is it a team and city that Mitch is comfortable with? Is it a trade return that makes the Leafs go, 'you know what, while we're in a Cup window, let's pull the trigger on this deal!' At the end of the day, Mitch himself. He's rather inclined to remain a Maple Leaf, so everyone should brace for the possibility he's back with that team next season."

Elliotte Friedman previously reported on <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/elliotte-friedman-on-mitch-marner-vegas-will-be-around-it">Leafs Morning Take</a> that the Vegas Golden Knights could be a team interested in pursuing Marner. It's clear that the 27-year-old will have some value on the open market and some teams are looking to see if they can get a superstar entering their apex years at a discount rate.

Until Marner is traded, or the Maple Leafs sign him to a long-term extension, he will be a point of interest. It's uncomfortable territory for all parties involved, but that's the nature of modern professional sports.

Report: Maple Leafs have not decided whether to trade Mitch Marner

Recent articles from Arun Srinivasan

Breaking News