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New York Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How plausible is the idea of Sabres pursuing Mitch Marner in NHL free agency?
A few years ago, Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner came to a Buffalo Bills game with his Toronto teammate Morgan Rielly. The two were wearing Bills jerseys and got a picture together on the sideline. The Bills posted about it on their social media accounts. There was some hand-wringing in the Sabres' fan base about Buffalo's NFL team celebrating the presence of two rivals of Buffalo's NHL team. But planted within that picture was a glimmer of hope — or maybe delusion — for Sabres fans. Advertisement What if Marner, a southern Ontario native, were willing to play in Buffalo when he hit unrestricted free agency in 2025? Well, we're six weeks away from the possibility of Marner hitting free agency. Marner is going to be hockey's biggest story this summer. If he hits the open market, which is looking likelier after another early exit from the Leafs, the 28-year-old will be one of the best players to hit unrestricted free agency in the last decade. Every team in the NHL would love to have a player like Marner. But the question will be how many teams can afford the price he's going to command on the market? Only a finite number of teams are in a position to make an aggressive offer, but you can bet more teams would make moves to try to position themselves if Marner becomes available. The Sabres could afford him, but the math is a little tricky. If Marner ends up getting as much as $14 million, the Sabres would need to make trades to open up the cap space. PuckPedia projects the Sabres to have just north of $21 million in cap space, but JJ Peterka, Bowen Byram, Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn, Devon Levi and Jacob Bernard-Docker are all restricted free agents. Alex Tuch's next contract is looming. So signing Marner would require a few different things. Marner would need to want to come here. While that may be far-fetched given the state of the Sabres franchise, Marner and his wife are both from the Toronto area. They just had their first child. If he wants to stay close to home but get away from the intense spotlight of playing for the Leafs, Buffalo is a logical option. Marner has taken an outsized share of the blame for Toronto's playoff failures. In Buffalo, he would be a hero before he ever put on the skates. Simply helping the Sabres get back to the playoffs would earn him the adoration of the fan base. It doesn't hurt that Marner is a Bills fan, too. Advertisement The Sabres would have to be willing to overpay Marner to come to Buffalo. A $14 million cap hit seems aggressive, and it is. But when you have developed the reputation the Sabres have as a franchise, you pay more to convince players to come play for you. The Sabres haven't spent to the cap ceiling since the pandemic, so their willingness to pay is a legitimate question mark. So is Marner's ability to live up to a market-setting contract. But that risk is mitigated a bit by the salary cap rising in future years. General manager Kevyn Adams would need to be willing and able to rework his roster to fit Marner. Even a $13.5 million cap hit would require big pieces to move out to make room. Whether that was one or more of their restricted free agents or clearing space by trading Mattias Samuelsson ($4.285 million) or Connor Clifton ($3.33 million), Adams would need to dramatically change his team. For a team that has missed the playoffs for 14 straight seasons, with multiple seasons coming with this core group, rethinking the roster wouldn't be a bad thing. Adding a 100-point player like Marner is a rare opportunity and one worth exploring. He's been one of the NHL's most consistent playmakers and is a strong two-way forward. Over the last three seasons, Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is the only player with more takeaways than Marner's 219. He's not without flaws. His postseason play has left something to be desired in recent years, but the way he played in the 4 Nations tournament provides hope that a change of scenery could help him thrive under postseason pressure. The Sabres would be a better team with Marner. But the combination of factors listed above makes it a long shot. If the Sabres were a perennial playoff team the way they were 15 years ago, maybe it would be easier to picture Marner coming to Buffalo. But the playoff drought and a coach and general manager in the final season of their contracts is a lot of uncertainty for a franchise that doesn't have a reputation for stability. If Marner weren't from southern Ontario, this probably wouldn't be a conversation at all. But if that fact means there's even a slight chance of luring Marner to Buffalo, the Sabres need to explore it. Even if that means a few of Buffalo's talented young players need to be moved to make it happen. Advertisement If sticking close to home isn't a priority for Marner, the Sabres' chances of landing him plummet. If he prioritizes winning or the allure of other flashier markets, the Sabres will need to find another way to reshape their roster. There are other options on the free-agent market, and the Sabres have plenty of trade chips to work with if they want to change the mix. The offseason is by no means Marner or bust. But the path to acquiring star-level talent isn't easy in the NHL. It's even more difficult in Buffalo for reasons Adams has outlined. Why not at least pick up the phone and make your best pitch?
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maple Leafs Urged to Move Star Defenseman After Playoff Failure
The fallout from the Toronto Maple Leafs' latest postseason failure has already begun. With the team eliminated in a 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7, questions about the futures of several key figures are intensifying. One of the strongest criticisms came from Sportsnet's JD Bunkis, who singled out defenseman Morgan Rielly as a member of a core that, in Bunkis' eyes, needs to be dismantled. Advertisement Rielly, who completed the third year of an eight-year, $60 million contract, has been with the Leafs since Toronto drafted him with the No. 5 pick of the 2012 NHL draft. 'I think he should be gone,' Bunkis said on Monday's "Leafs Talk" show. 'Let's get into cuts—for me, it's start with this: Shanahan, gone. I don't see a scenario that makes any sense with Marner. And yeah, I think Rielly is the next cut. 'Those are the three automatics.' Rielly's contract includes a full no-movement clause, but Bunkis suggested Toronto could apply pressure to force him to accept a trade elsewhere. Rielly is coming off a 41-point regular season and scored seven more points in 13 playoff games. The veteran blueliner, however, was on the ice during multiple key breakdowns in Game 7 and finished the playoffs with a minus-2 valuation. Advertisement After the loss, Rielly acknowledged the team's collapse in the second period. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner (16), Auston Matthews (34) and Matthew Knies (23) congratulate Morgan Rielly (44) after a E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images 'Obviously there was a period there where they get three, and we're not able to weather the storm, or push back,' Rielly said. 'In there somewhere is a pretty crucial part of the game.' Rielly was presented with a scenario in which he would be moved from Toronto, but he wasn't that interested in entertaining it. 'That's not what I'm thinking about right now,' Rielly said. Rielly's mind is set on Toronto for the time being, as he made clear while addressing the media on Tuesday. Related: Auston Matthews' Leadership Questioned By Former Maple Leafs Player Related: Maple Leafs Coach Points Out Core Four's Main Flaw After Game 7 Loss
National Post
19-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Pluses and minuses: Maple Leafs season in review
Mitch Marner slumped at the bench in the final seconds of the Maple Leafs' season-ending 6-1 loss on Sunday was quite the sight. Article content Article content But for us, John Tavares's woeful gaze to the heavens after Brad Marchand's overtime winner in Game 3 was the defining image of 2024-25. Article content After a great season, beating Ottawa in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and a glorious chance to put the Florida Panthers down 3-0 in the series, Tavares and fellow long-suffering teammate Morgan Rielly were on for the bad-bounce turning point in yet another missed playoff opportunity. Article content Article content It was a picture worth 1,000 words, but here's a few more to wrap up the season. Article content FIVE NEGATIVES Article content Bad enough the Leafs haven't got past the second round in the Core Four era, but the young guns of Shanaplan fame were noticeably absent when it counted. Article content Marner, Rielly, Auston Matthews and William Nylander were blanked and have totaled 10 points in six Game 7 defeats, hardly congeneric with their large salaries. We'll take some injuries into consideration, but Tavares was also marginalized as space was reduced in the heavy hitting series against two physical foes. That the five couldn't pool their talents more consistently this and every spring, especially when able to out-score their problems in net and on defence in past regular seasons, was shocking. Article content For most of the season, new coach Craig Berube ran a tight ship and achieved accountability from players, a big part of his mandate. Article content But he also accepted blame when the Leafs slipped a bit when finishing off the Ottawa Senators and for the first time this year, was at a loss for words Sunday at the home ice collapse for the second time in five days. He couldn't find a the right lines to compensate, while resisting the nuclear option of splitting Matthews and Marner as the series got away. Article content Berube got a raw look at what Sheldon Keefe was often up against at crunch time. The long-tenured leadership group which remained intact other than Matthews and Tavares flipping the 'C' and the 'A', is presented as the face of the team and can talk a good game. But answers sound more stale each spring and there will have to be a shake-up if Marner and/or Tavares leave. Article content Injuries once more came at the worst possible junctures. The Leafs overcame an early absence of Matthews and he laboured at times all season. With the year ended, he still hasn't revealed what has been wrong to end the rampant speculation. Article content Anthony Stolarz was likely concussed after a strong start in the Florida series and never returned. Matthew Knies gutted out the last two games with a lower body injury and locket cleanout this week will reveal who else was hurting through the last weeks of the schedule and playoffs.
National Post
19-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Mitch Marner on Leafs losing to Panthers: 'Sadness, obviously, depression'
Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves, Florida scored three times in a 6:24 span in the second period and the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 on Sunday night to advance to the Eastern Conference final. Article content The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final, opening on the road Tuesday night. Article content Article content Seth Jones, Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich scored in the second-period burst and Eetu Luostarinen, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand — into an empty net — added goals in the third. Marchand, Luostarinen and Aleksander Barkov each had two assists. Article content Article content 'We were very quick at closing when pucks were coming around the wall,' said Marchand, a Maple Leaf killer in his Boston Bruins days who played in a Game 7 for the 13th time in his career and is 5-0 against Toronto. 'They weren't able to get a whole lot going.' Article content 'I just don't think we had our best stuff in the most important game of the season,' Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said. 'That's unacceptable. That's the result you get when that's the case.' Article content Article content Jones opened the scoring at 3:15 of the second, beating Woll to the far post with a shot from the right side. Lundell struck at 7:18, putting in a rebound. Gadjovich followed at 9:39 off another rebound. Article content Domi cut it to 3-1 at 2:07 of the third, beating Bobrovsky between the legs. Luostarinen countered 47 seconds later for Florida, and Reinhart scored at 9:24. Article content The Maple Leafs led the Atlantic Division matchup 2-0 on the back of consecutive home victories before the Panthers won three straight to go up 3-2, the last a 6-1 romp in Game 5 that looked a lot like Sunday. Toronto staved off elimination with a 2-0 road victory Friday. Article content Article content 'The games were so tight,' said Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who led his team past Toronto in five games in 2023 and is 6-0 in Game 7s. 'This is a much better team than we played two years ago.' Article content Article content Article content The Maple Leafs have won just two series in 11 tries across the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era, with Marner set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Article content
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Panthers eliminate Maple Leafs in Game 7 with dominant second period: Takeaways
It was supposed to be different. But in the end, the same Toronto Maple Leafs core who lost five straight Game 7s lost their sixth in a row in a humiliating 6-1 defeat to the Florida Panthers. And they got there in a similar fashion as they have in the past: Over the span of six minutes and 24 seconds in the second period, the Leafs stopped skating, stopped defending and stopped trying to change the depressing narrative swallowing them whole. They allowed three goals in that time span, a quick knockout blow. Boos rained down, once again, in the second period. Advertisement This is the same Panthers team that won a Stanley Cup last season. When it mattered, the Leafs never looked in the same weight class as the Panthers. The same movie played out in front of a disgusted fanbase that had seen it so many times before. And as the seconds of the season ticked away, the same playoff demons cackled from the top of Scotiabank Arena. In a little over six minutes, a series of avoidable errors sunk the Leafs. Morgan Rielly's failed pinch attempt in the neutral zone eventually led to the Panthers' first goal. Joseph Woll struggled to get his glove hand on Brad Marchand's shot from distance and Anton Lundell scooped up the rebound. William Nylander stopped moving his feet while trying to defend in his own zone before the Panthers' third goal. But you could feel these mistakes coming, too. How to sum up how relentless the Panthers assault on the Leafs was to start the game? After 40 minutes, the Leafs had allowed the most shot attempts through two periods of any team in any game all season. It didn't matter that most of those attempts failed to hit the net. What mattered was that the Panthers simply wore down the Leafs and the home side had no answer. The most troubling aspect was that they acted like it, too. The Leafs looked far too tentative while defending and failed to mount any sort of pushback when it mattered. For any NHL franchise that finds itself down and out, the Panthers are the new gold standard for how swiftly fortunes can be turned around. Consider that when head coach Paul Maurice was hired on June 22, 2022, the Panthers had four series victories to show for their entire 28-year existence. Since then? They've won nine of their last 10 series heading into the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. Maurice took over a team known for run-and-gun hockey that won the Presidents' Trophy and turned them into the suffocating, forechecking beast they are today. Advertisement Florida has played 303 games over the last three seasons and still they battle on. 'I was that guy that was born on third and brags about the triple,' said Maurice. 'They had 122 points before I got there and I coached that down to 92 the next year. It's there. It's in the men. And really the other story is (GM) Bill Zito and the people he's brought into our group.' Still, Maurice deserves immense credit for pushing all of the right buttons. With his team trailing 2-0 in this series, he replaced his entire fourth line for Game 3 and saw them score a big goal. He also flipped wingers on his top two forward lines and changed up the defensive matchups to slow down Toronto's second line after a red-hot start from Nylander. After not experimenting with his forward lines all that much through the regular season, Craig Berube began throwing darts at the board with the game all but over in the second period, including pairing the likes of Max Domi and Max Pacioretty with Matthews and Marner. In the third period, a Hail Mary emerged in the form of Tavares beside Matthews and Marner. Nothing worked. Hindsight is 20-20, but the second and third periods were a reminder of the benefit of trying different combinations through the regular season to have options in your back pocket. Instead, the new combinations stunk of desperation from a team that was just treading water by the third period. Brad Marchand was a man possessed in the 13th Game 7 of his NHL career, grabbing a fifth Game 7 victory against the Maple Leafs alone. The oldest man on the ice finished with XXa goal and two assists to run his personal total to 37 playoff points against Toronto – second-most all-time behind only the 53 scored by Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe. Advertisement Marchand, a trade deadline pickup from the Boston Bruins, finished with a team-leading seven points in the second-round series. As for his approach to Game 7, the 37-year-old says he's learned to enjoy these moments, win or lose. It allows him to play free and leave it all on the ice. 'I mean, these are the games that you talk about forever,' said Marchand. 'They're the moments that, if you go on to have a run, that you always look back on and you talk about the moments within the game that allow you to win. Teams that win them and go on to win a Cup, they're the moments where you look back and everyone's like 'If you don't win that your Cup run's over.'' By winning the series, the pick Florida is required to send to Boston in the Marchand trade upgraded to a 2027 first-round pick from a 2027 second-rounder. That's a price the Panthers will gladly pay. Did Woll allow two goals he probably should have stopped? Yes. Did he give his team a chance to build some sort of lead with stellar play through the third period, though? Also yes. And so while blame will – and should – be spread around, another terrible old habit emerged in Game 7: The Leafs failed to find the back of the net. For the fifth Game 7 in a row, the Leafs scored one measly goal. That one goal from Max Domi out of the gates in the third period gave Scotiabank Arena life. But the four players who failed to give the building life? The same four players who failed to produce and live up to their sky-high contracts. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Nylander combined for zero points in Game 7. This is not a matter of a small sample size anymore. This poor performance from the Leafs' stars in the biggest game of each of their careers should be cause for massive organizational change.
