Maple Leafs' goal is to keep Marner and Matthews together over long-term

When Brad Treliving took over as the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, he faced the daunting task of getting the core of the team locked up to new deals.

Initially, he took some time to settle into his role and get the team through the draft and free agency before tackling the big-money extensions. But he made it a priority to get them locked up. Centre Auston Matthews signed a four-year, $53-million extension before the season started while winger William Nylander's deal took longer to get done but eventually, he put pen to paper on an eight-year extension worth $92 million.

Next on the list for Treliving is winger Mitch Marner, who is eligible to sign an extension in the off-season. The 26-year-old is in the final year of a six-year contract that carries a $10.9 million cap hit.

When asked by co-host Jeff Marek on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast about Marner's future and trying to keep him paired together with Matthews, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman said he believes that is the direction the team wants to go.

"I do think it's their goal to keep Marner. I don't have any doubt. I think they know Marner and Matthews want to play with each other," Friedman said. "I believe that's been a conversation in the past where Matthews has made it very clear he wants to play with Marner and Marner has made it clear that he's happy to do it.

"At the end of the day, there's still going to be a negotiation and we'll see where that goes and we're going to punt that to the summer because they're not going to do it now. But I absolutely believe their long-distance plan is to keep them together for a long time."

Going into the 2025-26 season — the year Marner's new potential deal would kick in — the Leafs will have around $27 million committed to seven players.

Friedman reported that the salary cap is expected to rise to $87.675 million for 2024-25 and approximately $92 million in 2025-26, the hope is that another increase would make it easier to fit in a Marner deal.

The real question Treliving and his front office will have to figure out is what number they will be comfortable with. Matthews' cap hit in his new deal will be $13.25 million while Nylander will see an increase to $11.5 million.

Back in the summer, Sportsnet's Luke Fox offered way-too-early look at what Marner's next contract could look like. Using the 13.38 per cent salary share that his current deal carries and factoring in potential salary cap increases, the AAV would likely exceed $12 million per season.

Marner also carries a full no-movement clause in the final year of his deal, so the team will have to consider that when thinking about his future.

The team will also have to factor in what they will do with captain John Tavares, who has one season left on his $11 million contract and will also be looking for a new deal at the same time as Marner.