Anyone waiting for the Toronto Maple Leafs regular season schedule to be revealed on Wednesday immediately scanned the 82-game slate to see when the game against the Vegas Golden Knights and the return of Mitch Marner would be.
The game, in the middle of a five-game Leafs homestand on Friday, January 23rd, is not on the centerpiece Hockey Night In Canada broadcast on Saturday night, but will still be the focus of the hockey world. The Golden Knights will be playing the second of back-to-back road games and thus will likely have a media availability before the game.
The first question that one of my colleagues in the Toronto media who has covered Marner since his rookie season in 2016-17 would undoubtedly ask is his expectation of the fan reaction when he steps on the ice.
Let’s just say this… he should not expect the same reaction that fans gave Mats Sundin when he came back with the Vancouver Canucks in 2009. Sundin had given Toronto over 1,000 regular-season and playoff games over 13 years, led the Leafs to two Conference Finals, and although some were irked at him for not waiving his no-trade clause before leaving as a free agent in 2008, most fans at Air Canada Centre that night gave the 37-year-old former captain a standing ovation.
There is no doubt in my mind that the booing that Marner received at the end of Game 7 against Florida will serve only as a preview for what he will absorb when he steps on the ice at Scotiabank Arena just over six months from now. In fact, it will probably make those cretinous New York Islanders fans who spewed their bile at John Tavares when he returned to Long Island in 2019 seem like amateurs.
Some will say that it will be embarrassing and beneath the hockey-loving fans of Toronto to put on such a display, but it would be more embarrassing if they cheered someone who obviously did not want to play in the center of the hockey universe anymore because he could not handle criticism, pressure, and scrutiny. On top of that, it is clear that Marner’s camp prevented the Leafs, who had paid him nearly $70 million over nine years, from trading him or working with them to find a destination he wanted to go since last summer.
Karlsson Rumors Make No Sense
Not questioning the validity of the rumors circulating that the Pittsburgh Penguins are shopping defenseman Erik Karlsson. Former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is likely trying to sell everything not nailed down in an attempt to increase his odds at winning the Gavin McKenna lottery. As we know, GM Brad Treliving’s reputation is that he talks to every GM frequently to check in on all possibilities.
There are only a couple of problems with these rumors. Short of Dubas retaining 50% of Karlsson’s $10 million cap hit and making him an affordable $5 million AAV the last two years, the Leafs cannot afford the three-time Norris Trophy winner. To get them to do that, Toronto would have to give up Easton Cowan, who the Pens VP of Hockey Operations, Wes Clark, drafted with the Leafs in 2023.
The other issue is that to move in Karlsson, you would likely have to move out Morgan Rielly, and indications from the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun were that Rielly will not waive his no-movement clause.
Karlsson is a better puck mover than Rielly, but he has a checkered injury history, is four years older, and frankly is more of a defensive liability on the back end than Rielly.
I don’t think Dubas would blink at retaining half his salary if the offer was good. Of course EK gets to approve a trade, but the salary cap won’t be an issue for the Penguins for years to come. After this season, it will help us get to the floor.
Mike, are still expecting a trade for a top six winger?