What should the Maple Leafs do with Mitch Marner?

Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs uniform. Question marks all around

The Toronto Maple Leafs once again suffered a disappointing first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Boston Bruins, losing in overtime of Game 7, and with questions about his future with the team and a potential contract extension looming, Mitch Marner spoke about what it means for him to play for the original six franchise.

“It means the world to me. We’re looked upon as kind of Gods,” Mitch Marner said, via Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com.

Over the years, Marner has been a target of criticism from Maple Leafs fans as the team has failed to achieve its goals in the playoffs. These comments will undoubtedly catch the attention of angry fans. In this year’s playoffs, Marner put up three points, one of them being a goal in the series against the Bruins, according to NHL.com. This came after another productive regular season, in which Marner put up 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 points in 69 games played, marking the sixth year in a row in which he eclipsed the point-per-game threshold. There is no doubt about his ability to produce in the regular season.

In the playoffs, Marner has played 57 games in his career, scoring 11 goals and recording 39 assists for 50 points, which is not necessarily bad, but it has not been enough for Toronto over the years. The only year in which Marner and the Maple Leafs have advanced past the first round was in 2023, when they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, but lost to the Florida Panthers in the second round.

After this year’s loss to the Bruins in Game 7, which is a familiar feeling, the Maple Leafs have some questions to answer this offseason, including what to do with Marner.

Will the Maple Leafs extend Mitch Marner this offseason?

The 2024-2025 season will be the last for Marner on his current six-year contract which pays him $10.903 million a year, according to CapFriendly. The dilemma for the Maple Leafs last year was that Marner was set to have a no movement clause kick in, and they eventually decided to keep him. Marner still has that no movement clause now heading into his final season with the deal, according to CapFriendly.

The options for the Maple Leafs likely are to either extend Marner to keep him around long-term, or letting him play on the last year of his contract if they decide that he should not be a part of the team’s future.

The toughest part of this all is that while Marner has his faults, he is still a very productive player, so it is hard to let him walk without knowing that you will get someone who can step in and produce to a similar level. The Maple Leafs’ actions this summer will be telling when it comes to the long-term view of Marner’s role with the team.