Shocking Maple Leafs Rumor Suggests Hostility Between Marner & Leafs Management

According to a Toronto Maple Leafs insider, there's a chance Mitch Marner could leave this offseason in free agency due to the bad blood.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs are fighting to avoid blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Ottawa Senators, a shocking rumor has emerged from Paul Bissonnette stating there is "hostility" between pending UFA Mitch Marner and team management.

Bissonnette, former NHL player and tough guy, said this week on the Pat McAfee Show that there's a reasonable chance Marner could leave this offseason in free agency due to the bad blood.

There’s a little hostility between the Maple Leafs and Marner, based on the fact that they tried to trade him at the deadline for Mikko Rantanen, who was available, and they were willing to part ways with Mitch Marner, even though he had a 100-point season.

The stunning word came to us back in March, after the trade deadline passed, that Leafs GM Brad Treliving was offered superstar winger Mikko Rantanen by the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Marner.

Contract talks with the Leafs' winger were going nowhere, so Treliving approached Marner, and, while telling him that their priority was to sign him, that if he didn't think he would sign, would he accept this trade? Marner declined to waive his no-trade clause, saying he wanted to stay in Toronto.

So it was all swept under the rug... Or was it?

Will Mitch Marner re-sign with the Maple Leafs?

Much of Marner's potential future in Toronto has always been thought to be tied to how this year's playoffs went—both for the All-Star forward and for the Maple Leafs. And both parties started off the first round on fire: Marner had six points in the first three games as the Leafs cruised to a 3-0 lead in a series they were fully expected to win.

But the usual nagging doubts have crept in for the last two games, as Ottawa has closed the gap to 3-2, and Marner has been held to one point and a minus-4 in those two games.

The drama continues in Leaf Land. But given this potential "hostility" between the two sides, does the outcome of this series (and any potential upcoming series) truly tell the tale of what happens with Marner?

The 28-year-old (as of next week) will be commanding about $14 million annually on the free agent market, and is coming off his best regular season, with 102 points.