The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today, September 13th, that they have resigned forward Mitch Marner to a six-year contract extension worth $65.358 million ($10.893 million AAV). Marner played in all 82 games for the Leafs last season, in which he produced 26 goals and 68 assists. He then played in all seven of the team’s playoff games, through which he tallied two goals and two assists. Drafted fourth overall of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto, Marner has appeared in 241 career NHL games, over which he has recorded 67 goals and 157 assists. The 22-year-old right wing has only played for the Leafs organization over his three season NHL and professional career.
Full Contract Breakdown:
- 2019-20: $700,000 base salary, $15.3 million signing bonus.
- 2020-21: $700,000 base salary, $14.3 million signing bonus.
- 2021-22: $750,000 base salary, $9.608 million signing bonus.
- 2022-23: $750,000 base salary, $7.25 million signing bonus.
- 2023-24: $750,000 base salary, $7.25 million signing bonus.
- 2024-25: $750,000 base salary, $7.25 million signing bonus.
My Reaction: I really don’t know whether to be happy or angry about this deal. On one hand, this is an enormous overpayment and Toronto now has a little over 40% of their cap space tied up in just three players for next season. Also, they only get relief from the LTIR this season, so next season they will be way over the cap, especially considering the fact that they only have one defenseman under contract for next season and several of the ones who are up will want significant raises. So, it’ll be fun to watch them figure that out, as no other team will want to help them clear cap space. But, on the other hand, Marner is an incredible player and he’s undeniably a huge part of their team. They would not have had anywheres near as potent of an offense this season without him, and considering their defense is bad (although improved from last season), they need all the help they can get offensively. However, as good as he is, this is a major overpayment. He only put up 26 goals last season, and while he put up close to 70 assists and produced at a 1.15 points per game rate, goals are what should get you paid in the NHL. Also, he got a major boost from playing with Tavares last season, and it’s questionable as to whether or not he can repeat his success in this upcoming season. He’s still young and improving, but to expect him to put up that many assists consistently is probably asking too much.
If he can score more goals and continue to put up similar numbers of assists, this contract could end up looking great in a few years as the cap continues to rise. Points aside, he’s a great playmaker and passer who’s also a good two-way winger. He also has great speed, hands, and hockey sense/IQ. He’s an unselfish player who battles hard in all three zones, and he’s willing to do what it takes to get the puck. He developed great chemistry with Tavares last season and because of that he saw a huge spike in points, but if anything that makes him even more overpaid. You don’t pay players that much money when they were greatly improved by a teammate, because what if something happened to Tavares? Marner would not be as good, and his contract would look even worse, even as the cap continues to rise. I know I’m going to have some angry Leafs fans in my mentions because of this, but I really don’t think this was a smart move on the team’s part. Instead of spending money to improve their defense, they way overpaid a player and promised themselves that they’ll be in cap hell for a while starting next season. They will likely regret this contract despite the fact that Marner is an incredible player, but if the cap rises enough and he continues to improve, they may not. No matter what though, it certainly isn’t smart to have roughly $33 million tied up in just three forwards and that number rises to $40 million (which is 49% of the cap) when you add in Nylander. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how they figure things out and who they end up trading, as it’ll almost certainly be someone unless they intend to play next season with just one defenseman. The only thing I know for sure though is that I’ll be watching and laughing as they desperately try to escape cap hell.
Hockey Addict 