The NHL trade deadline came with a flurry of deals and there were a number of winners and losers. The Dallas Stars were able to acquire Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes, and that move may make Dallas the favorite to land the Stanley Cup. On the other hand, the Hurricanes sent a brilliant player in Martin Necas to Colorado earlier in the year for Rantanen and they were unable to convince him to a long-term contract, so they came out on the short end. As a result of those developments, Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs may be the biggest winner of them all.
Here’s why: Marner is finishing up the final year of a 6-year, $65.4 million contract with the Leafs. The right wing will be a free agent July 1, and he ranks as the best player who will be available once teams are allowed to start bidding on the league’s most talented players.
Rantanen figured to be at the top of the free-agent rankings along with Marner, but he came to an agreement on an 8-year, $96 million contract with the Stars before the trade with the Hurricanes was finalized. As a result, Marner is in a position to take advantage of a jump in the salary cap that will see it go from $88 million to $95.5 million next season and $113.5 million by 2027-28.
Marner has been earning $10.6 million per year on his current contract, and he may be able to command $13-14 million on his next deal if he wants to go to the highest bidder.
Marner may have to leave Maple Leafs to get top money
Marner is clearly one of the Maple Leafs’ primary drivers, but he is not the team’s best player. That would be star goal scoring ace Auston Matthews, who signed a 4-year, $53 million deal last year. It would be difficult to see the Leafs paying Marner more than they pay the redoubtable Matthews. Matthews scored a Maple Leafs record 69 goals a year ago.
But teams like the Vegas Golden Knights or the Florida Panthers — strong Stanley Cup contenders — would not face that kind of limitation. Additionally, those two teams represent tax havens for athletes earning big money because of the state income tax situation. There is no state income tax for individuals in Nevada and no state income tax at all in Florida.
Mitch Marner is having another brilliant season. He has scored 19 goals and 58 assists for 77 points in 61 games. That comes on the heels of scoring 85 points in 2023-24 and a career-best 99 points in 2022-23. Marner is a two-time NHL All-Star.
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