Mitch Marner took the night to sleep on it.
For all he talks about wanting to be a Maple Leaf for life, his only team, his only town, when he was asked about waiving the no-trade arrangement in his contract, he didn’t answer immediately.
The next day he declined the invitation to be dealt at the deadline — ostensibly for Mikko Rantanen, although he didn’t know that — and Marner did so with a business-like calmness. He again stated, both privately and publicly, that Toronto was his place and the Leafs were his team.
He reiterated that position, which is oddly in direct contradiction to the actions of his agent, Darren Ferris.
If Marner wants to stay with the Leafs, why then isn’t he open to negotiating with them? The notion — he won’t negotiate while the season is going on — is pretty much modern-day drivel. Players don’t tend to be involved much in contract negotiations until they get close to the deal being signed or one walked away from. The agent does the work. The player provides his parameters to the agent — or in many cases, the agent provides those figures to the player prior to the commencement of any negotiations.
In his words, Marner wants to stay with the Leafs. With his actions, though, the opposite could be interpreted. And because of that, the Leafs thought they had no choice but to investigate Rantanen’s availability when that possibility was presented to them.
Rantanen, if signed, was a sure thing long-term with the Leafs. Marner, unsigned, remains a question.
Now, the Leafs don’t know exactly what Marner is thinking or who he is listening to and neither side knows precisely how the other side will act at season’s end. It’s a game of hockey chicken with the only sure thing — Marner being well paid no matter how this ends up.
THIS AND THAT
Where did much of the Marner Leafs-Carolina trade deadline information leak from? The answer to that skill testing question: The Carolina Hurricanes. It was in the Hurricanes’ best interest to change the narrative from the god-awful trade they made sending Rantanen to Dallas. So the more you leak, the more you raise the volume in the Toronto market, which lives for hockey volume … The one advantage the Leafs have from previous seasons: If they go until playoffs without signing Marner or centre John Tavares, they can base their contract situations for the future on playoff success or failure of this year. One thing that might send Marner out of Toronto, a hockey insider said: “He’s tired of being the public piñata of the team.” … If Nathan MacKinnon wins the Hart Trophy — and he would be my choice today — he would become the first NHL player since Alex Ovechkin in 2009 to win the MVP two years in a row … Connor McDavid has won three Harts, Sidney Crosby has won two, but neither have won in successive seasons. The previous player to do it before Ovechkin was goalie Dominik Hasek … Others who have won the Hart back-to-back or more: Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Hasek, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Clarke, Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Eddie Shore and Howie Morenz. Nice list to be part of … Through a lot of the season, I thought Leon Draisaitl was the choice for MVP. And while MacKinnon and Draisaitl are competing nightly for the scoring title, and are probably 1-2 or 2-1 for the Hart today, my slight difference between them may be the sheer speed and explosiveness that MacKinnon brings to the game. It’s breathtaking to watch … Quinn Hughes, having a sensational season in Vancouver, has missed too many games to win a second straight Norris Trophy as top defenceman. Instead, one of Cale Makar or Zach Werenski of Columbus, both of them deserving, should win the award. Hughes might have been a Hart finalist, as well, had he not had injuries … Connor Hellebuyck is a runaway winner for the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender and is a possible Hart contender … Stan Bowman won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks as general manager, the first with Antti Niemi in goal, the next two with Corey Crawford and Scott Darling in net. It’s no wonder Bowman thinks the netminding in Edmonton is good enough to win now … The Maple Leafs look at Mackie Samoskevich, a big-shooting, small-sized forward with the Florida Panthers with great interest because that’s what they think Nick Robertson could become. Same skill set. Samoskevich has really come on in the second half of the season. He was a late first-round pick in 2021, taken one spot after Dallas selected Wyatt Johnston and has five goals in Florida’s past 10 games.
HEAR AND THERE
Hard as it may be to believe but it has been 10 years since the Jose Bautista bat flip — the single most exciting Blue Jays moment since the World Series years of the 1990s. Can you believe that? It’s been nine years since the Edwin Encarnacion extra-innings playoff home run against Baltimore. And the Jays need $500 million or so now to sign Vladdy Guerrero Jr., whose most famous playoff moment was foolishly getting picked off base at Minnesota in 2023 … So much of the Jays’ history is based around the home run. The Bautista blast. The Encarnacion smack. The Roberto Alomar homer in Oakland. The Ed Sprague pinch-hit home run in Atlanta. The Joe Carter World Series winner. And on opening day 1977, two home runs hit by the late Doug Ault. His greatest day as a big leaguer … Since winning the 1993 Series, 22 different teams have either won the World Series or played for it. Besides the Blue Jays, those who have not are the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, the Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. The Yankees have won the most Series since the last Jays victory with five championships in all, followed by Boston with four and San Francisco three … The most regular season wins with fewest championships — Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, with two titles apiece in the past 32 years … You can’t make this up: A group of 15 Canadians bought tickets for the Blue Jays’ spring training game on Friday against the Houston Astros in West Palm Beach. When making the purchase over the phone, the ticket buyer was asked an unusual question: Can you sing the Canadian national anthem? She said no, but I think my husband can. So on Friday, a guy from Mississauga, wearing a Blue Jays jersey, without rehearsal, sang the national anthem before the Jays game. And he did it beautifully … ESPN’s fine baseball mind Buster Olney on the ongoing Guerrero contract situation: “For a franchise worth $2.1 billion or so, $3.5 million yearly is like tip money.” … In the 32 years since the Carter home run, the Blue Jays have finished in the top six of the American League just eight times, never once finishing first in the American League. The Mark Shapiro-Ross Atkins scorecard, discounting the 2016 team, which wasn’t theirs: Jays have finished 11th, 10th, 11th, 7th, 6th, 3rd, 5th and 12th in the AL. And they just keep on going, like nothing is ever wrong.
SCENE AND HEARD
Mel Brooks wrote a terrific, funny movie years ago called The Producers. The premise was to somehow make money by producing a musical destined to fail. It was the theatre version of tanking for financial gain. Hell, Brooks could have been an NBA general manager. There are about seven teams currently fighting to finish as low as they can in the NBA, including the rather comical and delightful Raptors, who have won six of their past seven games, lost their only game by one point, might have won eight in a row had they won in a crazy game in Chicago, and have a relatively easy schedule through the last month of the season. The poor Raps, trying so hard to tank and wind up in lottery pick position, can’t stop winning … Worse than the Raptors: Nick Nurse’s Philadelphia 76ers. Have to wonder if Nurse will be back next season … Always liked Martina Navratilova, the legendary tennis star. I like her more now. Here’s Martina online about Canada and Donald Trump: “Just shut up about Canada!!! What the eff is wrong with you? Canada doesn’t want to be the 51st state. How about you fix the economy first??? All talk and no good action.” … Some things in life never make sense, like Ilya Kovalchuk announcing his retirement as the 141st leading scorer in NHL history. There were 140 players better than Kovalchuk? He finishes up two points behind Dennis Maruk and one ahead of Matt Duchene, at least as of Saturday morning … Don’t understand D.K. Metcalf, the excellent NFL receiver. He left Seattle as a free agent to sign in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers don’t have a quarterback of note. Wouldn’t knowing who your quarterback is be the first thing a receiver would want to know? … Isn’t the end of Aaron Rodgers’ career, whenever it ends, feeling rather similar to the end of Brett Favre’s journey? … I could make a long list of those who should have been replaced before Arash Madani was let go at Rogers Sportsnet. He was that good at his job. Few in sports television could write and package a story the way Madani did.
AND ANOTHER THING
There is a difference between skating fast and playing fast in hockey. Of late, the Maple Leafs have been skating fast and playing slow hockey. You can’t get away with that at playoff time … Mike Babcock used to say that very little happens on most shifts in the NHL. What the best players understand instinctively is how to take advantage of the shifts when there are opportunities. Another Babcock-ism: He wanted his teams to get a minimum of six points for every five games played. If you did that, it would result in a 96-point season or more. Yet, it’s entirely possible there will be at least three teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs with fewer than 96 points … The big difference as the Ottawa Senators have gotten better over the season: The club’s defensive play. They’ve always had speed. They’ve always had scoring. Now coach Travis Green has them playing a more complete style of play. They’ll be a tough out assuming they make the playoffs … The NHL’s leading scorers over the first quarter of the new century. Most points: 1. Crosby; 2. Ovechkin; 3. Joe Thornton. Most goals: 1. Ovechkin; 2. Crosby; 3. Steven Stamkos. Most assists: 1. Thornton; 2. Crosby; 3. Patrick Kane. The plus-minus leader: Zdeno Chara at +308. Most wins by a goalie: 1. Marc-Andre Fleury; 2. Roberto Luongo; 3. Henrik Lundqvist … When you look at Ed Belfour’s career statistics and you look at those belonging to Lundqvist, both of them in the Hall of Fame, you really have to wonder why Curtis Joseph isn’t there alongside them … There are more empty-net goals being scored than ever before in the NHL, which makes me wonder: Why do empty-net goals count statistically against a player? … A Mitch Marner column ending: Marner grew up in Toronto and for almost nine seasons has been one of the Maple Leafs’ great players. Being a local, being involved in charity, being a star of a high-powered regular-season hockey team, should have made him one of the largest stars in Leafs history. He should be a modern-day version of Doug Gilmour. But for reasons not necessarily explainable, he isn’t that. He’s popular, but not overwhelmingly so. He plays with great joy but doesn’t seem to show it off the ice or for the public to see. Often in post-game or off-day interviews, he appears as though he’s on the witness stand for a trial of something he’s perceived to have done wrong. He brings all of his on-ice joy, I’m told, to the dressing room and to the team activities and almost none of it to the public. He may be the most complicated uncomplicated player in Toronto sports history … Happy birthday to Vladdy (26), Joel Embiid (31), Darcy Tucker (50), Mark Scheifele (32), James Reimer (37), Rowdy Tellez (30), Ozzie Newsome (69), Harold Baines (66), Curtis Granderson (44) and Mark Carney (60) … And hey, whatever became of Ryan Goins?
X: @simmonssteve’’