TORONTO -- Mitch Marner and John Tavares each expressed a desire Wednesday to remain with their hometown Toronto Maple Leafs beyond this season.
Marner is entering the last season of a six-year contract ($10.9 million average annual value) he signed September 13, 2019, and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2025. The 27-year-old forward had 85 points (26 goals, 59 assists) in 69 games last season, his eighth after being the No. 4 pick by Toronto at the 2015 NHL Draft.
“Growing up in this area, I’ve always been a Leaf fan, I’ve always wanted this team to succeed just to see what it would be like as a fan, and now being a part of it is pretty special,” Marner said. “… It’s my home, it’s the place I’ve grown up and I have many, many memories of watching this team play on Saturday night hockey with my family, just sitting there for hours watching, and now being able to live that dream is pretty special.”
Tavares signed a seven-year contract ($11 million AAV) as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2018, and was Maple Leafs captain for five seasons before handing the role to forward Auston Matthews on Aug. 14. Tavares, who turns 34 on Friday, had 65 points (29 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games last season. He can also become a UFA on July 1.
“All I am going to control is go out there and play at a very high level and help our team focus on trying to win a Stanley Cup this year,” Tavares said. “That’s what our goal is and what our goal has been since I’ve come here. I have a tremendous amount of belief in this group from when I’ve came to now and the evolution of everything, but whenever that comes, obviously hopefully something can be worked out.
“It’s not something I am going to talk about or focus on every single day, but obviously I want to be here. I want to be here long term and hopefully that happens.”
While Marner and Tavares have each had individual success throughout their current contracts, the Maple Leafs have won just one Stanley Cup Playoff series (2023 Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning) despite qualifying each season since 2016-17.
Toronto general manager Brad Treliving said he will not be entertaining a daily line of questions regarding the status of new contracts for Marner and Tavares, but he made clear what he thinks of them in the short term.
“When I got here, having players like Mitch and John was one of the lures of coming here,” Treliving said. “When I talked to (new Maple Leafs coach) Craig (Berube) about coaching here, [he said the same thing]. They’re great players and hopefully they’re going to be great Leafs for a long, long time. But as far as worrying about any contracts, those are things we will handle behind closed doors.”
Marner said preemptively in a statement before taking questions that he was not going to address discussions on a new contract. His focus is on the 2024-25 season, which begins Oct. 9 at the Montreal Canadiens.
“You can’t think of it that way,” Marner said. “It’s another year of wanting to be the best you can be and help this team win hockey games. That’s where my mind is, it’s not thinking of a contract year and you have to be doing this and that. It’s just another hockey year where you want to be the best you can be to help this team win hockey games and get to the ultimate goal.”
The core group of Marner, Matthews, forward William Nylander and defenseman Morgan Rielly have been together with the Maple Leafs since 2016, two years before Tavares arrived. At Media Day on Wednesday, Rielly talked about the group growing and maturing together, watching some get married and start families and the fondness that has led to amongst the group.
But there is still something missing.
“The next step, the next thing our group needs to accomplish is winning,” Rielly said. “That’s always been the main focus.”
And so for Tavares, he knows the best way to control whether he remains with the Maple Leafs long term is by showing Treliving he can still contribute to that end goal.
“Every year you have to prove yourself, so for me it’s not resting on what I’ve done or where I am at,” Tavares said. “I want to continue to push the envelope and challenge myself to play at a very high level to help this team as best I can. It’s just going about my business the way I always do, and I like to think that over time that stuff gets sorted out.”
The future of both players beyond this season remains unclear, but Tavares said he intends to accomplish the goal he’s had since he signed with Toronto six years ago.
“Playing here I think is remarkable,” Tavares said. “It’s tremendous the fan base, the support, desire and belief in the group and wanting to see us win and bring a Stanley Cup back to Toronto. I think you just embrace that and cherish that and enjoy each and every second of it.”
