HIGHLIGHTS
- Mitch Marner spoke about his future on Tuesday
- The Maple Leafs star has yet to process his team’s playoff exit
- Read below to see Marner’s full comments
Once again, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell short of their Stanley Cup goals. The Atlantic Division champions were eliminated in seven games on Sunday by the Florida Panthers, losing by a brutal 6-1 scoreline on home ice. Tuesday was locker clean out and exit interviews for the team, and that meant each player spoke to the media, including Mitch Marner.
The veteran has played his entire career with the Maple Leafs, and he’s set to hit the open market this summer as a free agent. Marner was asked about where his head is at in terms of a potential reunion with Toronto, but he stayed rather tight-lipped with his answers.
Via Sportsnet:
“I’ve always loved my time here. I’ve loved being here,” Marner said on the team’s locker clean-out day. “Like I said to you guys the other night, I have been so grateful and, you know, haven’t processed anything yet. It’s still so fresh and losing sucks.”
Marner said he’ll figure out the next steps in the coming weeks with his family:
“In the next couple of weeks, I’ll sit down with my wife and we’ll start talking,” Marner continued. “Trying to figure out what’s next.”
The 28-year-old was the fourth overall pick by the Leafs in 2015, and while he’s always been an important player, Marner just had a career year in 2024-25, tallying 102 points. If he doesn’t come to terms on a new deal with the club by July 1, he will become a UFA.
Lots of teams will undoubtedly be interested in the playmaker, who is a game-changer, despite his struggles in the Panthers series. Head coach Craig Berube also praised Marner heavily for his contributions:
“I love the guy and love coaching him. I love his energy, personality. He’s a hell of a player,” Berube said about Marner. “You know, he does a lot for this team, night in, night out, in a lot of different areas of the game. So I got nothing but good things to say about him.”
John Tavares is a free agent this summer as well, while Matthew Knies will be an RFA. Changes could be coming for the Leafs.
