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The discourse started the second the final horn sung at TD Garden after the Leafs once again fell to the Bruins in Round 1, Game 7 last postseason: It’s time to break up the core four.
The hockey world famously revolves around the Maple Leafs, so it was easy for even the most even-keeled among us to forget why this hadn’t already happened. The buds are the most expensive people in the league with some of the most iron clad protections in their contracts.
Auston Matthews is about to become the league’s highest-paid player with a $13.25 million AAV and a full no-movement clause kicking in this year, William Nylander’s sporting a new eight-year, $92 million contract extension with a full no-movement clause for its entirety, John Tavares’ $11 million cap hit and no-movement clause didn’t look so hot at 29 goals and 65 points in 80 games last season, and then you’ve got the scapegoat of the year in Marner.
Homegrown Marner remains at the center of trade discourse, despite the Leafs making several moves already this free agency that haven’t included him. The 27-year-old winger is entering the last year of his six-year, $65.4 million deal carrying a $10.9 million cap hit, and you guessed it, a full no-movement clause.
Applying Occam’s Razor, other NHL clubs know Marner is out of this contract next year and could acquire him on their own terms, without surrendering assets the Leafs are clearly seeking. There’s also the no-movement clause that has inherently restricted trade talks.
At this point, which NHL GM in their right mind is going to trade for Marner right now when they could just wait until the deadline or his actual free-agency period?
