TORONTO — Mitch Marner’s wall went up before the first reporter’s hand.
“I’m not here to talk about that,” the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar said Wednesday, choosing to shoot down any contract questions before they could be asked.
As training camp opened on the dazzling playmaker’s ninth pro season but first as an impending unrestricted free agent, Marner — with full team support — is erecting a barrier.
He doesn’t want the “noise” to penetrate.
Nor does he wish to dive in publicly about how it felt not getting the same public endorsement as a top re-signing priority the way Auston Matthews and, later, William Nylander did when those elite talents were in the same position last off-season: eligible to commit long-term; also eligible to play things out and see what happens.
As is his right, Marner doesn’t want to touch on the gigabytes of online trade proposals or playoff criticism lobbed his way after the Maple Leafs bowed out of the playoffs in painful fashion: Game 7. In Boston. Eating a dash on David Pastrnak’s season-killer.
“I really tried to keep myself quite far away from reading any comments or anything about myself throughout this past year, and even the past few years,” Marner said.
“I’m really trying to stay off of all social media. Just stay clear and realize there’s a lot better things probably going on.”
Marner shut down questions on the uncertainty of his Maple Leafs future twice this summer, at his foundation’s fundraiser and at Matthews’ captaincy ceremony, and kicked off camp in similar fashion.
We can’t say anything detrimental or explosive if we don’t say anything at all.
This is the plan of attack, and everyone is on board.
General manager Brad Treliving has vowed not to discuss Marner’s contract (or anyone else’s) until there is news to announce.
“Mitch has always been a very committed person, very committed hockey player,” Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said. “But I think when you see the work he puts in, and you see his love for the game and his love for the City of Toronto, that’s what helps you believe in Mitch Marner.”
Matthews believes Marner is ready to roll through the ambiguity: “He’s dealt with it great. He’s had a great summer. I think with all the noise, you can only control so much. So, I think he’s put in a lot of work. He looks great on the ice, off the ice. Focused. And we’re all here to support him as teammates and as a team.”
Interestingly, the Marner support group extends outside the city.
Zach Bogosian, who lived with Marner and his now wife during COVID lockdown, gave an impassioned defence for his playoff performance and style of play.
Ryan O’Reilly tried to lobby the Nashville Predators to engineer a trade for Marner, according to colleague Nick Kypreos.
And reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon told reporters in Las Vegas last week how unfairly his fellow Canadian has been treated.
“Marner gets a lot of flak in Toronto,” Mackinnon said. “But he’s honestly one of the best players in the league. I play with some of the best players in the league, and then I skate with Marns, and he’s right up there with anyone. Especially at that camp, there was a lot of good players. He stuck out as one of the best.”
“That camp” was a weekend gathering of the elite in Vail, Colorado, where Sidney Crosby set the pace for Marner’s group and Connor McDavid shredded the sheet.
“It was cool to hear their messages and their love for me,” said Marner, who studied the post-practice details of the Hart winners and relished the chat with his potential national teammates afterward.
“I have a lot of respect for those three guys,” Marner said. “Training with those guys makes you want to up your game even more.
Marner’s peers and coaches and bosses are all singing his praises as a player and person, like usual. And his agent has stayed mum publicly.
Marner’s agent is Darren Ferris, who has a reputation for encouraging his high-end clients to play things out and push for maximum value. That tact was ridiculously successful when Marner came due as an RFA in 2019. Ferris allowed Marner to miss a few days of camp while he negotiated a whopper ($10.9 million AAV) compared to peers Mikko Rantanen ($9.25 million) and Brayden Point ($9.5 million).
Now, with the NHL’s salary cap finally trying to catch up to league revenue instead of vice versa, and Leon Draisaitl setting a new $112-million bar for the big pay day, it would be impossible to imagine Marner asking for a penny less than Nylander’s $11.5 million salary (or more than Matthews’ $13.25 million) on a long-term deal.
True, John Tavares, also a 2025 UFA, will either be taking a pay cut or coming off the books, but that’s still a lot of dough to invest in three forwards.
Ultimately, Shanahan said he’s running back the core because when management asked if moving on from any one of the individuals would make the team better, the answer was no.
Left unsaid: It wasn’t just management’s decision. All four men hold full no-move clauses.
They like it here. Playoff failures be damned.
“Growing up in this area, I’ve always been a Leafs fan. I’ve always wanted this team to succeed and to win just to see what that would feel like fanwise. Now being part of it is very special,” Marner said.
“It’s my home. It’s the place I’ve grown up. I’ve got many, many memories watching this team play Saturday night hockey with my family. Sitting there for hours watching.”
So, now it’s our turn to watch.
Watch to see if Marner’s determination to not think about a life-changing payday, to only live in the now and help the Leafs win hockey games, translates to a noise-cancelling winter.
To eight more years with his boyhood team.
And, just maybe, to a fresh narrative come playoff time.
We’ll be watching. Even if we’re straining to peer over that wall.
Fox’s Fast Five
• Craig Berube is starting Nylander at centre and Max Domi on the wing.
“(Nylander) could be a great transporter of the puck from our zone to the offensive zone. He’s strong. He’s big. He’s skilled,” Berube explained.
• Injury updates: Connor Dewar is still recovering from his summer shoulder surgery and will not participate in camp.
Centre prospect Fraser Minten will be sidelined weeks after suffering a high-ankle sprain from the David Reinbacher hit he took Sunday in Montreal.
First-round pick Ben Danford suffered a concussion in rookie camp.
And defenceman Jani Hakanpää (knee) will begin camp with the development group before working his way into sessions with the NHLers.
• Shanahan says Rogers’ new controlling share of MLSE ownership won’t affect how he goes about his business as club president, maintaining that he and ownership are aligned in the goal: To win the Stanley Cup.
• Tavares’s agent, Pat Brisson, engaged in preliminary extension talks with Leafs management over the off-season, and both sides are hopeful to keep the former captain in Blue and White beyond this season.
“I want to be here. I want to be here long term,” Tavares said. “Hopefully that happens.”
• Morgan Rielly: “To a degree, your goal will always be to win a Stanley Cup, and anything short of that will be a failure. I think that’s how our group feels.”