Breaking Rumor: Maple Leafs Consider Tampering Charges Against Golden Knights Over Marner

Could Leafs file tampering charges if Vegas signs Mitch Marner?

A stunning new development on the Mitch Marner free agent saga Sunday morning:

We heard on Saturday about a Marner sign-and-trade scenario being negotiated between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights. But why would Vegas give up a good player when they could just sign Marner outright as a free agent in two days?

According to Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts Podcast, there is buzz around the league that the Leafs are considering hitting Vegas with tampering charges if Marner signs with them.

It's being whispered everywhere around the league… that if Marner goes to Vegas, the Maple Leafs will go after Vegas for tampering. I have no proof that Vegas is guilty of anything, but it's a time around the league where teams are extremely sensitive about it, and as a couple of GMs told me about it on Saturday, they think the NHL is itching to make an example out of someone.
But, if they make a deal with Toronto and send them a good player, I'm betting any chance the Leafs file for tampering goes away.

The current word is that Nic Roy's name, and potentially Nic Hague's, are being discussed as possible sign-and-trade returns to Toronto from Vegas.

Could Leafs file tampering charges against Vegas over Mitch Marner?

To be certain, Vegas does need to clear cap space in order to sign Marner, and plenty of it, so moving out some money in the form of Roy ($3M cap hit) and/or Hague (an RFA projected to earn about $2.6M), would help them. But the tampering threat is a whole new element to the scenario.

As Friedman reiterates, with the tampering subject swirling around league circles in recent times:

"There are teams out there who believe the league wants to clobber someone (for tampering)."

This is all heating up to a fever pitch, and we'll keep a close eye on this over the next 48 hours.