Brian Burke, a former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, says the organization should trade William Nylander rather than Mitch Marner.
After the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins, Marner was the focus of trade rumours. However, Burke, who was Toronto’s general manager from 2008 to 2013, feels the Maple Leafs should trade Nylander rather than Marner because Marner is a more valued player.
“Obviously, with no trades or movements, you have to convince one of these individuals to get out. I think the logical player to go would be Willie Nylander rather than Mitch Marner, as I’ve already stated, but I believe it may be Mitch Marner. If you’re going to persuade one of them to leave, it won’t be popular, and people won’t like it, but they’ll accept it,” Burke stated on The Leafs Nation on July 3.
“I think Mitch Marner is a pretty vital guy on the team; he kills penalties. I know people are down on him right now, but he’s a lovely kid and a valuable player. They are both excellent players, but I believe Mitch Marner is far more valuable to me,” Burke added.
Marner is entering the final year of his seven-year, $65.4 million contract, with a salary of $10.9 million per season. Nylander, meanwhile, will begin the first year of an eight-year, $92 million contract he signed with the Maple Leafs on January 8.
Both Marner and Nylander have no-movement clauses, so if neither wants to be traded, they cannot be. However, if both are willing to be waived, Burke believes the Maple Leafs should attempt to deal Nylander.
Burke is not a fan of the Maple Leafs core four.
The Maple Leafs have structured their roster around the core four of Marner, Nylander, John Tavares, and Auston Matthews.
However, Burke believes that all of the players have similar skill sets and will make more than $10 million next season. Burke believes Toronto should have spent their money on defence and goalies instead of four excellent forwards.
“Like I mentioned at the time, this model isn’t going to work, back when they signed Nylander for the first time and created the big four. On that day, I stated unequivocally that this was a mistake, and I have been loud about it ever since. I believe that a cap model, even with a $5 million increase in the cap, is still unworkable for me; no other team has four forwards tied up in pure skill positions. “I believe they still need to solve a problem,” Burke stated.
Blowing up the core four has been a popular opinion among Maple Leafs supporters, and Burke concurs that it is time to move on.
Marner wants to stay in Toronto.
After the Maple Leafs were ousted in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Marner expressed his intention to remain in Toronto and sign an agreement with the franchise.
“That would be a goal,” Marner stated on May 6. “I’ve conveyed my admiration for this location, this city. Obviously, I have grown up here. We’ll start thinking about it right now and attempt to work something out.”
Marner was selected fourth overall by Toronto in the 2015 NHL Draft. He appeared in 576 regular-season games, scoring 194 goals and 445 assists for 639 points. Marner scored 26 goals and assisted 59 times in 69 games this season, totaling 85 points.
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