Before signing a six-year, $65.4 million contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019, there was reportedly a chance that then-restricted free agent Mitch Marner could've inked an offer sheet with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
According to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, Marner's agent, Darren Ferris, and former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, "at least discussed" inking the now-28-year-old forward to an offer sheet before Toronto signed him just after training camp got underway.
"The Jackets, under then-general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen, were desperate to show the world there could be life after Bread and Bob, but they would need some high-level reinforcements to make that happen. And they did, in fact, go big-game hunting that summer," Portzline reported.
"To this day, it’s hard to say how serious the talks were between the Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner, then a 22-year-old restricted free agent."
Portzline adds that the Blue Jackets, under GM Don Waddell, could take another swing at Marner on July 1 and offer him a contract which would make him the highest-paid player in the NHL, "if that's what it took to secure him."
Columbus has $40.4 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.
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It's yet another report to surface about the Toronto forward who appears destined to test the open market this summer. Since July 1 last year, Marner has had the chance to negotiate and sign an extension with the Maple Leafs, but hasn't done so, and won't even say he wants to return to Toronto.
"Always loved my time here," said the forward during locker cleanout day, in what could be the final team he speaks to the media as a Maple Leaf. "Like I said to you guys the other night, I've been so grateful. I haven't processed anything yet. It's still so fresh."
Other reports that have surfaced since the season concluded include a three-team trade in March, which could've seen Marner land with the Vegas Golden Knights while Toronto received Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Theoretically, the Leafs would have received Mikko Rantanen while the Golden Knights got Marner and sent something to Carolina," The Athletic's James Mirtle reported.
Report: Mitch Marner Was In Three-Team Trade Talks With Leafs, Hurricanes And Golden Knights Ahead Of DeadlineToronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner appears likely to hit the open market on July 1, but there was a chance earlier this season that he could've been a Vegas Golden Knight.
Earlier this month, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights discussed a Marner trade last summer. However, talks reportedly died down after Toronto asked for defenseman Shea Theodore, who Vegas wasn't willing to give up.
"I heard [Vegas] told people, 'You wanna watch Shea Theodore? You can buy a ticket to watch him play for us,'" Friedman said on 32 Thoughts earlier this month. "And they followed through on their word."
And finally, there was the report following the trade deadline, where Toronto asked Marner to waive his no-move clause to go to the Hurricanes in exchange for Rantanen. In the days following the deadline, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving addressed the report following a practice in Utah.
"We're aligned with Mitch. We're worried about this season, we're worried about the games we have coming up," Treliving said. "We want Mitch here for a long time."
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A few days later, Marner admitted he felt something could occur leading into the trade deadline.
"I wasn’t focused on it," he said. "But, yeah, I’m here to play hockey with this team, like I said, and I’m focused with this team, and that’s what I can tell you."
According to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, Toronto's final offer to the Hurricanes included prospects Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, along with two first-round picks. Kypreos added that the Maple Leafs were even comfortable offering Rantanen a contract worth $105 million over eight years.
Ultimately, the Maple Leafs moved Minten and two picks, including a 2026 first-rounder, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Brandon Carlo. Toronto also added Scott Laughton at the deadline for Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round pick.
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Marner finished the regular season with 27 goals and 75 assists for 102 points in 81 games, the first time he's broken the 100-point threshold in the NHL. The forward, who's played alongside Auston Matthews for most of his career, scored two goals and 11 assists in 13 playoff games.
If this is indeed the end for Marner and the Maple Leafs, the forward finishes his career fifth all-time on the team's point list (741 points in 657 games), fifth in the club's all-time playoff points (63 points in 70 postseason games), and fourth in assists (520).
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