Indeed, it has already started at the administrative level.
As mentioned on the site CapFriendly, no less than 10 Leafs players will gain complete autonomy this summer and, from the main lineup, only goaltender Ilya Samsonov and defenseman Victor Mete will have partial autonomy. The GM, whoever it will be by then, will have a lot of work to do.
The Leafs are not ruling out the option of a trade in the team's overhaul. They will not be closed to trading one of the four members of their core group which are: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander. A trade in the style of that of the Panthers, which involved Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar and allowed them, in turn, to get Matthew Tkachuk, is therefore not to be ruled out.
In a recent article for the site The Athletic, the excellent Pierre LeBrun claims that he would not be surprised if the player leaving Toronto is Mitch Marner.
His logic is simple, Tavares will not want to lift his no-trade clause, Matthews will remain a Leaf and sign long-term, and Nylander is not attractive because his contract ends next summer.
Wow!
According to the experienced journalist, an impactful defender must be included in any offer involving Marner. However, there are still many uncertainties before reaching this point. It will first be necessary to see if Dubas will remain the GM of the team or not.
It's certain that it makes us dream, Montreal Canadiens fans, and it's certain that Kent Hughes will do his homework in this case, but let's not hope too much.
Via HF
POLL | ||
MAI 20 | 2572 ANSWERS RUMOR: Major statement from the renowned Pierre LeBrun about Mitch Marner and Montreal Canadiens fans can dream a little Would you trade Kaiden Guhle, the Panthers' first pick, and the 5th overall pick, for Mitch Marner? | ||
Yes | 556 | 21.6 % |
No | 1750 | 68 % |
The Leafs will decline | 266 | 10.3 % |
List of polls |