Moments after the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated after another embarrassing performance in Game 7, social media was lit abuzz with the potential of Mitch Marner walking into free agency and joining their favourite teams – including factions from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Just as many who were in support of the idea also scoffed due to his lack of playoff success. The Maple Leafs had won just two playoff series over the last nine years and Sunday night’s game was the furthest they had played in a series since they were eliminated by the Flyers in 2004.
Marner’s situation is interesting because he is by far one of the most skilled wingers in the game who has also found a second gear as a defensive specialist. However, he’ll always be remembered for his performances in the playoffs and being unable to help the Leafs make the necessary jump in nearly a full decade.
His stats don’t paint a pretty picture either as he has just 13 goals and 63 points across 70 games. While he isn’t much of a goal scorer, Marner has just 6 goals across his last 3 postseason runs and only fired 16 shots on goal this spring, including 1 shot in the final 4 games.
On the flip side, Marner’s regular season numbers are spectacular. The 28-year-old produced his first 100-point campaign past last year after coming painfully close a few times in recent years. He’s collected 265 assists alone over his last 303 games while also adding 118 goals in that span.
His 741 points in just 657 games is good for 5th all-time in franchise history for the Maple Leafs but after another meltdown in the postseason, his time with the club is all but over. It was reported earlier in the year that he was looking at nearly $14 million per season on his new deal, which would make him the highest paid player for at least one season before Connor McDavid’s next extension.
The Maple Leafs are expecting to go through massive changes from the front office all the way down to the roster. With both Marner and John Tavares hitting unrestricted free agency, the expectation now is that both players will freely walk on July 1st with the Leafs looking to use the cap space elsewhere.
Most of the NHL has a lot of cap space to work with and Marner is going to be the biggest free agent to hit the block since Artemi Panarin in 2018 or even Tavares in 2017. Every team will be trying to ensnare his services despite the lack of playoff success and that includes teams like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Utah, and even San Jose.
While the Flyers have lacked a true superstar for quite some time, does it make sense to go after Marner this summer? They are expected to be more aggressive this summer and perhaps the hiring of Rick Tocchet changes their plans ever so slightly.
If you land his services, you’re getting an established points producing winger who can play both sides of the puck and has elevated his teammates during the regular season. On the flip side, you’re gambling on his lack of big-game hunting when the lights are the brightest.
Looking ahead at their books, the Flyers have $24.72 million this summer with Cam York, Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, and Jakob Pelletier needing new deals. After that the Flyers have Nicolas Deslauriers, Ryan Poehling, Bobby Brink, Karsen Dorwart, Jamie Drysdale, Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae, and all three goaltenders either coming off the books or in need of new contracts in 2026.
Combined with the summer of 2025, the Flyers are projected to have just under $60 million in cap space but of course that number drastically changes based on what they do in June and July. Nevertheless, they are able to sign Marner and be able to build around him with the rest of their core signed through 2026 and other contracts coming off the books in the next few seasons.
The only real contract that the Flyers need to concern themselves with is Matvei Michkov. The Russian forward came off a strong rookie season that saw him net 63 points, but he’s in line for a new contract in 2027. The salary cap is projected to rise to $113.5 million by then but all eyes will be on what Connor Bedard gets on his next deal as a solid comparable.
Money-wise the Flyers wouldn’t be in any real trouble and Marner is as skilled as they come. However, would signing him be rushing the rebuild and everything they’ve done until this point? It just doesn’t make all that much sense at the moment considering they’re still a few years away from making a legitimate run and while the salary cap situation is finally looking a lot better than it has in previous years, it’s probably not wise to throw $13-15 million a season on one player with not much else around him for support.
You can also make the argument that superstars very rarely hit the open market and if you have the opportunity to land one, you should do whatever you can. 2-3 years down the road when they’re finally in contention, they’re going to wish they had a player of Marner’s skill level next to Michkov.
It’s a hard to pill to swallow because of everything that’s already been mentioned but also his reputation has taken a massive hit. Being from the Greater Toronto Area, I’ve had no choice but to consume Leafs information my entire life. The Marner situation turned sour during his contract negotiations coming off his ELC and things never got better. He was thrown to the wolves at every turn and became the new scapegoat of the team – and perhaps city – taking the baton away from William Nylander. Auston Matthews has received his fair share of hate but it’s been nothing close to Marner and both of his contract negotiations ended midseason and without a shadow of a doubt.
Both players have underperformed when they were truly needed and Matthews not being able to score in the playoffs is probably a lot more alarming than Marner’s goose eggs, however he earned less of the blame. Matthews receiving another 5-year deal instead of going down the route of an 8-year deal – twice – never got nitpicked but any time Marner’s name came up, discussions turned into arguments.
What Marner needs most is a change of scenery and he should be afforded that luxury this summer. Sometimes exciting cores don’t pan out but most of the time they get broken up within 4-5 years, like Edmonton before McDavid or Colorado when they got rid of Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly. Toronto ran it back for a near decade but never really addressed any of their main issues until recently when they found their goaltender and shored up their back-end.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Marner escaped the Toronto media and succeeded elsewhere, including in the postseason. A market like Carolina or Utah would be more than welcoming and less threatening than what he had to deal with for close to 10 years. We’re not absconding him for his lack of big-game plays but he was far from the issue nor was he the primary and principle reason they lost.
Signing Marner would signal a drastic turn from the front office and they would need to get aggressive in filling their glaring holes, primarily in between the pipes. Theoretically they could play out the first season of his deal as is and see what kind of impact he would make but is that doesn’t seem like good business for player or team, which makes this situation coming to fruition doubtful at best.
Nevertheless, Marner is going to be hotly pursued by most of the league, where they will be willing to meet or even exceed his $14 million AAV asking price, and if that team is the Flyers, then they better have all their ducks in a row as they truly usher themselves into a new era.
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