Way-Too-Early Free-Agent Landing Spots for Maple Leafs Winger Mitch Marner

The ink isn't even dry on William Nylander's deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and attention has turned already to the next big contract situation for the team.

This is likely to be forward Mitch Marner, whose contract expires after the 2024-25 season.

Technically, the Maple Leafs cannot sign the 26-year-old to a new deal until July, but it's almost certainly going to be a hectic situation. His current contract pays him over $10 million per year, and it's unlikely he is going to take a penny less than the $11.5 million Nylander received.

Given the potentially tense negotiations ahead, as well as the Maple Leafs' future salary-cap situation, there is at least the possibility that Marner may end up somewhere other than Toronto, especially if the team has more early playoff exits over the next two seasons.

With all of that in mind, let's take a way-too-early look at some potential free-agent landing destinations for Marner if he hits the open market in the 2025 offseason.

Let's just start with the obvious choice: Marner re-signs with Toronto.

No matter the results, the Maple Leafs have shown zero interest in breaking up their core group of forwards. And as tight as their salary-cap situation might be, you can be certain they are going to take a serious run at re-signing him, especially if he remains one of the team's top players.

Marner is a 90-point scorer who has rapidly become a Selke Trophy-caliber defensive player. That type of forward does not grow on trees, and teams will go above and beyond to keep them.

Toronto's salary-cap situation might be complicated, but it is probably being overstated a bit. A lot of money will be coming off the books in the coming years, including John Tavares' $10 million deal at the same time as Marner's contract expires.

If the Maple Leafs let Tavares walk or bring him back on a reduced salary, it would be no problem to find a new deal for Marner if all parties can agree.

Going into the 2025 offseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins will still have Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Tristan Jarry under contract, plus the possibility of bringing Sidney Crosby back if he wants to continue his career.

Whether Crosby is back or not, the Penguins still might not be ready to completely hit the reset button on a rebuild, especially with some core players still under contract.

Pittsburgh is also a team that loves making big splash moves and general manager Kyle Dubas has a connection to Marner from his days running the Maple Leafs.

It could be a fit.

Marner would not only give the Penguins a short-term impact player to play alongside the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Karlsson, but he could also be the new focal point of the offense as some of those names start to retire.

He will still be 28 years old at that point and should still have another five or six years of elite offense ahead of him. He could be a centerpiece for a rebuilt Penguins team and their top offensive option.

The Chicago Blackhawks might stink right now in the early stages of their rebuild, but that will hopefully be a different story in the 2025 offseason.

By then, Connor Bedard will be entering his third year in the NHL, this year's (likely) top-five pick should be starting to make an impact and the roster should be built up more into something ready to start contending for a playoff spot at least.

Chicago has almost no long-term commitments on its roster and should be a team swimming in salary-cap space. It should have the opportunity to add almost any player it wants in free agency or a trade. And if the rebuild progresses next season, there should be plenty of interest in playing alongside a rising megastar in Bedard.

When teams land players such as the 18-year-old as the centerpiece for their rebuild, they tend to progress quickly and aggressively with bold moves, especially if they are larger-market teams.

Chicago should be in the market for such a move, and Marner would be an ideal fit given his two-way play, production and the fact that he would still have so many prime years ahead.

Adding him could be the Blackhawks' version of the New York Rangers signing Artemi Panarin to kick-start their rebuild.

While Pittsburgh could be a team on the decline and Chicago might still be rebuilding, the Colorado Avalanche should still be in their window for contention when Marner enters free agency.

The Avalanche could probably use another impact scorer, even with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen at the top of the lineup.

Gabriel Landeskog will have now missed two full seasons due to knee surgeries, leaving his long-term future in doubt. Even if the 31-year-old does return, he might only be a fraction of the player he used to be.

Colorado is still one of the NHL's elite teams, but the forward depth has taken a significant hit since its 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning season. Almost all of the offense comes from MacKinnon, Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin and its defense. The Avalanche could use another top-tier name, and Marner would be a perfect fit for the way they play.

The wild card here would be what happens with Rantanen.

The 27-year-old is eligible for unrestricted free agency at the same time as Marner, who would be a natural replacement if Colorado can't re-sign the Finn.

Even if the Avalanche do bring back Rantanen, there still might be an opportunity to add Marner as well, especially if the front office can find a way to move some deals elsewhere on the roster to create more salary-cap space.

This is an outside-the-box suggestion, but why not the Nashville Predators?

Barring an unforeseen trade or two happening over the next two years, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Ryan O'Reilly will still be in place, and the Predators are armed with a ton of salary-cap space in the coming seasons.

New general manager Barry Trotz will be looking for impact players, and Marner would be one of the most impactful options on the market.

Nashville is also a team that has quietly made some big moves throughout its franchise history. It would be no surprise if it went for another big splash with the salary-cap space it has in the coming years and to complement the remaining prime years of Forsberg and Josi.

None of the past additions would be on the same level as someone like Marner, who would likely be the best overall offensive player the franchise has had.