<p>Ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs&#8217; end-of-year media availability Tuesday, it appears that Mitch Marner is likely to test free agency.</p>
<p>Marner is a pending unrestricted free agent, and following Sunday&#8217;s Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers, he may have played his final game with the Toronto Maple Leafs.</p>
<p>Sportsnet&#8217;s Elliotte Friedman stated that Marner and the Maple Leafs still aren&#8217;t close to the framework of a new contract.</p>
<p>&#8220;I could see how it&#8217;s going to be very hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner to see eye-to-eye on a deal, unless one side really changes their bargaining position. So, that&#8217;s where we are,&#8221; Friedman said on 32 Thoughts with Kyle Bukauskas.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">‘It’s going to be very hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner to see eye-to-eye on a deal.”</p>
<p>In the latest 32 Thoughts, <a href="https://twitter.com/sportsnetkyle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sportsnetkyle</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FriedgeHNIC</a> discuss the Leafs’ playoff run, Core Four, and more.</p>
<p>🎧: <a href="https://t.co/mw67NdhmBW">https://t.co/mw67NdhmBW</a></p>
<p>Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/GMCcanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GMCcanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/2qtTALl7jT">pic.twitter.com/2qtTALl7jT</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1924543686689292326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Marner effectively bet on himself and did not negotiate his contract in-season, electing to wait until the end of the playoffs. Toronto&#8217;s winger posted a career-best 102 points during the regular season, while posting two goals and 13 points in 13 playoff games. Marner was criticized for a string of poor performances to close out the second-round series against the Panthers, and though it&#8217;s possible both parties arrive at a deal after July 1, it seems at the very least, the winger will entertain offers from other teams.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Leafs have lost control of this situation as an organization because Mitch Marner can be a free agent,&#8221; The Athletic&#8217;s Chris Johnston said on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/atom-bomb-the-chris-johnston-show/id1586699460?i=1000709038451">The Chris Johnston Show</a>. &#8220;It does appear to me that he&#8217;s going to walk away in free agency. So that&#8217;s obviously just a massive hole in your lineup. Whatever you think of Mitch Marner, it&#8217;s hard to paint potentially losing a 102-point scorer for nothing as a positive. I realize that comes with more cap space to spend elsewhere. There aren&#8217;t very many Mitch Marner&#8217;s growing on trees, in fact, there&#8217;s only one and that&#8217;s why he&#8217;s going to chase this free agency, because he&#8217;s going to have some unique and lucrative opportunities for him.&#8221;</p>
<p>There may be some further clarity Tuesday, although Marner has been reticent to speak about his contract negotiations throughout the year. It will certainly be one of the key storylines surrounding the Leafs, to say nothing of the larger NHL ecosystem, in the following weeks.</p>
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Ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs' end-of-year media availability Tuesday, it appears that Mitch Marner is likely to test free agency.

Marner is a pending unrestricted free agent, and following Sunday's Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers, he may have played his final game with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman stated that Marner and the Maple Leafs still aren't close to the framework of a new contract.

"I could see how it's going to be very hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner to see eye-to-eye on a deal, unless one side really changes their bargaining position. So, that's where we are," Friedman said on 32 Thoughts with Kyle Bukauskas.

https://twitter.com/sportsnet/status/1924543686689292326?s=46&amp;t=ZScKpOPIyd2CPPkszRwq8w

Marner effectively bet on himself and did not negotiate his contract in-season, electing to wait until the end of the playoffs. Toronto's winger posted a career-best 102 points during the regular season, while posting two goals and 13 points in 13 playoff games. Marner was criticized for a string of poor performances to close out the second-round series against the Panthers, and though it's possible both parties arrive at a deal after July 1, it seems at the very least, the winger will entertain offers from other teams.

"The Leafs have lost control of this situation as an organization because Mitch Marner can be a free agent," The Athletic's Chris Johnston said on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/atom-bomb-the-chris-johnston-show/id1586699460?i=1000709038451">The Chris Johnston Show</a>. "It does appear to me that he's going to walk away in free agency. So that's obviously just a massive hole in your lineup. Whatever you think of Mitch Marner, it's hard to paint potentially losing a 102-point scorer for nothing as a positive. I realize that comes with more cap space to spend elsewhere. There aren't very many Mitch Marner's growing on trees, in fact, there's only one and that's why he's going to chase this free agency, because he's going to have some unique and lucrative opportunities for him."

There may be some further clarity Tuesday, although Marner has been reticent to speak about his contract negotiations throughout the year. It will certainly be one of the key storylines surrounding the Leafs, to say nothing of the larger NHL ecosystem, in the following weeks.
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Reports: Mitch Marner appears likely to test free agency

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