Maple Leafs head coach breaks silence on Mitch Marner's future

The Toronto Maple Leafs seem to be linked to every free agent and player available for trade. On the other hand, we have had virtually no news from members of the organization since the end of the season.

That changed on Saturday, June 29, when new head coach Craig Berube took the stage for the first time since being hired to coach the team, replacing Sheldon Keefe.

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox shared a quote from Berube regarding his perception of Mitch Marner and his future relationship with the player in athletic terms. Berube hopes to coach Marner during the 2024-25 season when everyone returns to work in training camp.

Craig Berube on Mitch Marner: “He’s a character guy. He’s a great person. Obviously, a great player. I can’t wait to coach him.”

—Luke Fox (@lukefoxjukebox) June 29, 2024

“He’s a guy with character.” Berube told Fox on June 29“He’s a great person. Obviously a great player. I can’t wait to coach him.”

The last (and first) time we saw Berube and Marner together in public before this statement was in May. At the time, user X @vinterista_ shared a photo of Marner and new Leafs head coach Craig Berube meeting at a coffee shop on Monday, May 27, as well as the Spittin’ Chiclets account I reshared the photo helping it go viral.

The nature of the meeting is still unknown.

Is Mitch Marner on the Maple Leafs trade list?

Two days after the infamous “Coffee Meeting”, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff ranked Mitch Marner as the No. 1 “trade target” for the 2024 offseason in its first such list.

Seravalli updated his chart a month after that first post, on June 28. The No. 1 sales target? You guessed it, the same Mitch Marner.

It was very windy this morning.

Sailor ✅
Jeannot ✅

Only two players were moved today from our Trade Targets board 🎯. Hayes was in the mix last year. He was caught off guard on Sergachev.

Who’s left? Here’s yesterday’s list: https://t.co/KTFV1XyAs3

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 29, 2024

“General manager Brad Treliving didn’t reveal much during his pre-draft media availability Wednesday (June 26) in Vegas. He referred to Marner several times as a ‘star’ and told the media not to put too much stock in the noise. There’s a reason for the noise,” Seravalli wrote of Marner. “We believe the Leafs will do everything in their power to try to move Marner this summer. They’re having some interesting conversations about Marner.”

In Seravalli’s eyes, the Maple Leafs’ main problem if they want to part ways with Marner before it’s too late is finding a team willing to pay the acquisition price.

“Will a team be willing to pay a price commensurate with what Toronto believes he’s worth? And if that happens, will Marner be willing to waive his no-trade clause or will he be committed to coming back? Those two things are another story, but the fact is Toronto is making an effort.”

Marner has a no-trade clause in his six-year, $65.4 million contract. He can block any trade the Leafs agree to with another NHL franchise. Marner’s contract runs through the 2024-25 season and he will make $10.9 million next year.

The Leafs winger finished the 2023-24 season with 26 goals and 59 assists for a total of 85 points in just 69 games played. He added 3 points in seven post-season games, including 1 goal and 2 assists.

Maple Leafs could still offer Mitch Marner a contract extension

The Leafs have yet to decide whether to trade forward Mitch Marner or re-sign him to a new contract and keep him on the injured reserve.

Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported on a June 15 episode of The Chris Johnston Show that Toronto still isn’t sure how to proceed with the Marner situation.

“The Leafs are not counting on Mitch Marner right now,” Johnston said. “They haven’t 100 per cent decided they have to trade him, they’re going to make life difficult and they’re getting the list of names. That’s not what’s happening.”

According to Johnston, the Maple Leafs will assess the trade market before asking Marner to waive his no-movement clause. Even then, it’s not guaranteed the forward would accept a trade to Toronto.

“At this point, I don’t think the Leafs have a deal in place for them (Marner and his agent), and I don’t think they’ve gone to them and asked for a list or anything like that,” Johnston said. “It doesn’t make sense for the Leafs to go to war with this player, to make it more public than it already is, they’re quietly behind the scenes looking and assessing if there’s a trade market.”

“And if there is, they’ll take the next step and see if Mitch Marner is willing to consider that move,” Johnston said.