3 offseason moves the Toronto Maple Leafs must make after another playoff failure
1. Trade Mitch Marner
Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. The Leafs have tried over and over again to make this core work. It hasn’t worked in the postseason.
The lowly Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators have each won a playoff series more recently than the Leafs. In fact, every team other than the Florida Panthers has won a playoff series more recently than them. So why should the Leafs expect a different result if they keep the status quo?
William Nylander would be the easiest member of the Leafs core to move. But he’s also the only one who has a reasonable contract of the Maple Leafs best players, he’s the one with the best postseason resume.
Auston Matthews was invisible during the playoffs, but I’m willing to bet he was playing injured. He didn’t look like himself at all. Matthews looked like he was battling something. Also, he just won a Rocket Richard, so he’s not going anywhere.
That leaves Mitch Marner. Marner has been incredible during the regular season. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, he ranks 10th among all players in points per game (minimum 150 games played). The players above him are the players fans talk about when they discuss the best players in the NHL.
But Marner hasn’t been able to translate his success into postseason results. In his past 18 postseason games, he has zero goals. While Marner also has 10 assists during the same timespan, just three of them have come at 5v5. Alex Galchenyuk has as many 5v5 points over the past three postseasons as Marner. And he’s only been around for one postseason!
Marner has been awful in his last 18 postseason games. Even at his best, he has been frustrating. At his worst, Marner has cost his team games, much like he did in Game 7 with several crucial turnovers.
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Trading Marner would let the Leafs be done with his massive contract. Getting his nearly $11 million cap hit off the books would let Dubas reinvest that money into better players. At the very least, it’s hard to imagine the Leafs could get less production in the playoffs for almost $11 million than they’re currently getting from Marner.