Rival Teams Skeptical Of Latest Mitch Marner Rumor

Rival teams are skeptical of Mitch Marner's plan to weight his free agent decision for a week or two

The latest Mitch Marner rumor that's been circling the league has it that the superstar UFA might not sign with a new team on July 1st, and instead get himself wined & dined for a couple of weeks on location with certain clubs before making a decision. But rival teams are skeptical of that plan, as relayed by insider Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday:

I actually heard a lot about that over the week from a bunch of different executives and teams. And they said it's a really good plan, but with one major flaw: What happens if a team that Marner really likes says, on July 1st, 'Here's our offer, and it's on the table until tomorrow. Because we can't afford to wait for you to go through a process like this. We have to know what the answer is, and if you're not coming, we have to race to Plan B'.
A few teams said to me, 'Someone is going to go in there and say, we're not doing this. Here's our offer, and you've got X (number of hours)... to take it or leave it.'

This obviously makes a ton of sense. If it takes days, or even a week or two, the teams that don't get Marner after that will likely have missed out on other free agents and/or trade options. "Teams can't afford to wait," added Friedman. "You might be screwed to help yourself somewhere else. And in this league, teams can't afford that."

The fallback options on the free agent market for teams looking for offense could include Nikolaj Ehlers or Brock Boeser, but no one expects those players to just wait around for Marner to get some VIP tours to make up his mind.

Teams like the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings are thought to be frontrunners in the Marner Sweepstakes, with the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes also ready to throw huge dollars at him.