Latest news with #MemorialCupMVP
Hamilton Spectator
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Where will Mitch Marner sign? Here's where the Maple Leafs star could end up, and how he'd fit in
Maybe the Maple Leafs will decide to move on from Mitch Marner . Maybe Marner will decide life will be better elsewhere. No matter what happens July 1 , the hockey prodigy from Thornhill will be the most coveted free agent on the market since John Tavares seven years ago. Tavares, a former Islanders centre from Oakville, came home to play with Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, forming the Leafs' Core Four. Now Marner could break up the gang, looking for riches or success elsewhere. Marner will be rich, to the tune of $13 million (U.S.) or more a year. Most teams have the salary cap space for him or can find a way to create it. The question is: Where will he land? He would make any team in the league better, but which one is going to win his services? Here are a handful of possibilities: GM Steve Yzerman followed the Leafs through the playoffs, and could believe his team is a Marner away from making the post-season. He's probably right. The Red Wings haven't made the playoffs in nine years but have come painfully close the last two seasons. Despite picking no higher than fourth in the draft (Lucas Raymond, 2020) in their nine wayward seasons, Yzerman has an array of young talent (Moritz Seider, Marco Kasper) that needs outside help to go further. It's not a sure thing that the Memorial Cup MVP will start next season in the NHL, but there should be opportunity. It's not a sure thing that the Memorial Cup MVP will start next season in the NHL, but there should be opportunity. Marner on the right side of centre Dylan Larkin could push the Wings captain to new heights, beyond his usual 30-plus goals a year. Detroit is a historic franchise with good ownership used to winning. It's also close to home for Marner. But even with a 100-point right winger, the Wings wouldn't be a serious Stanley Cup contender. From Jack Eichel to Alex Pietrangelo to Mark Stone to Noah Hanifin, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley is used to making a big splash and getting the shiniest bauble available. A quick look at their cap situation suggests the Knights don't have enough space, but it's never stopped them before. GM Kelly McCrimmon can be cutthroat, moving on from players quickly. Just ask Max Pacioretty, Marc-André Fleury or the recently repatriated Reilly Smith. Winning matters more than loyalty. It's part of Vegas's DNA , to always find a way to contend. Just imagine the magic that could develop between Marner and Eichel. Marner would be part of a Cup contender with an underrated fan base, but not one that will blame him for every loss. GM Kyle Dubas has a long-standing relationship with Marner, having drafted him in Toronto and giving him this six-year, $65.4-million deal that is expiring. And the lure of playing with Sidney Crosby — Marner's childhood hero — could prove too much to resist. Crosby made it clear in the 4 Nations Face-Off that he admires Marner's talent. Marner was giddy scoring an overtime winner on a pass from Crosby. The Penguins aren't exactly Stanley Cup contenders, now with a rookie coach in Dan Muse. But Marner would make the team younger and could get them back into the playoffs. And not that the 37-year-old Crosby needs a new lease on life — he had 91 points last season — but Marner might give him one anyway. Owner James Dolan has no patience for losing, and with the team failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021, he'll be on board with paying to make the team better. Marner would also be insurance with Artemi Panarin heading into his free agency year in 2025-26. The Rangers are deep at forward, so Marner wouldn't have to carry the load. But he could help get more out of Alexis Lafrenière or help revive Mika Zibanejad after an off-year. The renamed Utah Hockey Club is looking to make a big splash to reward fans for their support and to build loyalty by making the playoffs. The team built on the backs of the defunct Arizona Coyotes has some rising talent in Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse and Dylan Guenther. Marner would be 'the man' on the Mammoth. Wouldn't that be a delicious turn of events for an Islanders fan base that saw their prized captain Tavares leave for Toronto seven years back? New GM Mathieu Darche, the former right-hand man of Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois, has plenty of cap space. The Islanders are a good but not great team that missed the playoffs this year. Marner, 28, fits in age-wise with players like Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat. The Kings have lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round in each of the last four seasons and might see Marner as a means to finally find a way to go deeper. New GM Ken Holland can set a new direction by adding Marner to a lineup rife with high-skilled veterans (Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe) and burgeoning young talent (Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere). There is much less of a choice here with Marner than it once seemed, and Brad Treliving is the one who let it get to this point, writes Damien Cox. There is much less of a choice here with Marner than it once seemed, and Brad Treliving is the one who let it get to this point, writes Damien Cox. Lightning coach Jon Cooper loves Marner. He has coached him a couple of times at international events and will again next year at the Winter Olympics. Marner probably has a closer relationship with Cooper than he would with most opposition coaches. Who wouldn't want to play for a coach who appreciates your talent? It would take some cap magic, and maybe a trade or two, for Marner to land in Tampa, but BriseBois has found his way around the cap before. Marner, though, might have to take a back seat to Nikita Kucherov, the first-line right winger. And if Marner harbours any ill will toward the Leafs, going to Tampa could be some Machiavellian revenge.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maple Leafs need to keep Easton Cowan and give him a legitimate shot
If Brad Treliving feels the urge to include Easton Cowan in a trade this summer, the Maple Leafs general manager should resist it. Strongly. The Leafs have to have some sort of hope for the future in regard to their prospects at forward, don't they? The cold reality is that Cowan, fresh off being named the most valuable player in the 2025 Memorial Cup after the London Knights beat the Medicine Hat Tigers in the final in Rimouski, Que., on Sunday night, stands alone in Toronto's prospect pool. The date of March 7 was pivotal for the Leafs as it related to its group of youngsters who could one day play in the National Hockey League. At the trade deadline, Treliving included centre Fraser Minten in a swap with the Boston Bruins to get defenceman Brandon Carlo and, when he acquired forward Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers, winger Nikita Grebenkin was part of the package that went to Philly. With Minten and Grebenkin gone, there's quite a drop from Cowan to the next forwards who the Leafs might look to one day to make an impact. But as for the group that includes Jacob Quillan, Miroslav Holinka, Nick Moldenhauer, Joe Miller and Roni Hirvonen, it might be a stretch to assume that any of them will one day become full-time Leafs. It's too early to say what Luke Haymes and Ryan Kirwan, both signed out of college this past year, could eventually provide. Cowan easily is the best of the bunch. What kind of NHL player the 20-year-old eventually develops into is to be determined, yet how can there not be a solid foundation of optimism for someone who has been dominant in the past two Ontario Hockey League seasons? At his end-of-season media availability last week, Treliving made the comment that 'champions have the ability to be calm and at their very best when it matters the most.' It was in reference to the Florida Panthers and Treliving acknowledged that the Leafs have to find improvement in that regard (no kidding). The gap between major junior hockey to the NHL undoubtedly is significant. Still, the fact that Cowan, with the Knights, fits Treliving's champion thoughts to a T has to be a source of encouragement for the organization as a whole. A year ago, Cowan was named the OHL playoffs MVP and then led the Memorial Cup in scoring, though London lost in the Cup final against the host Saginaw Spirit. This year, Cowan led the OHL in playoff scoring, leading London to a five-game win against the Oshawa Generals in the final, and led the Memorial Cup in scoring on the way to being named tournament MVP. With what Cowan has accomplished, there has been a comparison made to what Mitch Marner did with the Knights in the mid-2010s. Nine years ago, Marner was named the Memorial Cup MVP after London won the 2016 event in Red Deer, Alta., with an overtime victory against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. That was after Marner led the OHL playoffs in scoring as London went 16-2 in the post-season, sweeping Niagara in the final. The difference — and it's not a small one — is that Marner did what he did a year ahead of Cowan. Marner turned 19 during the 2015 OHL playoffs. Cowan had his 20th birthday on May 20, three days before the Memorial Cup started. Marner's future isn't known, but that's only because no one can say with certainty where he will sign on July 1. What seems to be accepted, though we suppose that no door should be completely shut, is that it won't be with Toronto. As of now, the Leafs don't have a first-round pick in each of the next three years. It's true that to help fill the void that would result in Marner's departure, free agency alone won't get it done. Treliving is going to have to leave no stone unturned when investigating potential trades. And it's also true that, outside of Cowan and Matthew Knies, there aren't many young forwards (apologies to Nick Robertson) that other teams might insist to include in a trade. A look at Brad Treliving's work two years into his tenure as Maple Leafs GM London Knights redeem themselves with Memorial Cup crown Obviously, including Knies in a deal is not an option. Similar thinking should apply to Cowan. Once the Leafs get through training camp and the pre-season in September and October, they should have a firm idea of where Cowan slots into the lineup. He has the potential to one day be a difference-maker in the NHL. At the least, Cowan should get that opportunity with Toronto. Marner and Leafs captain Auston Matthews got some Selke Trophy love, following the pattern that has played out in the past several years. The Panthers' Aleksander Barkov was announced as the winner on Monday of the Selke, awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL, finishing ahead of teammate Sam Reinhart and the Tampa Bay Lightning's Anthony Cirelli. Marner was seventh in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, marking his third top-10 finish in five years. Marner came closest to winning the Selke in 2022-23 when he was third in voting. Matthews was 14th in voting, marking the fourth time in four years he has finished in the top 15. In 2023-24, Matthews was third in voting for his best placing to date. tkoshan@ X: @koshtorontosun
