Maple Leafs Conference Rival Emerges in Mitch Marner Sweepstakes in Free Agency

The NHL regular season is starting to draw to a close, with the trade deadline long gone and 18 or fewer games left for each team before the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

However, with the postseason and upcoming draft, teams have not suddenly stopped looking across the league for new acquisitions, particularly point-productive players who will hit free agency on Tuesday, July First.

Among the most prominent pending free agents is star Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner, who after playing with the team for nearly a decade, reportedly had to block a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen.

The former fourth-overall 2015 draft pick currently holds the 7th most points in the league for the season with 80 in 64 games and has the fifth most of any Leafs player during their career.

Despite his longstanding tenure in Toronto's Core 4, Marner has been connected to one Eastern Conference rival in particular: the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 27-year-old forward currently has a cap hit of nearly $11 million and will certainly looking to sign a sizeable portion above that number, and with Pittsburgh's space more than twice that, he could be an easy sign.

Marner also has a history of working with Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas and playing on the same line as team staple Sidney Crosby, which could help the team navigate a new direction in the franchise.

Yet, despite connections to the staff and skaters, a prolific forward like Marner may have a hard time signing with a team that has little chance of making a serious run for the Stanley Cup in the near future.

The release of his decision, however, will have to wait until long after he gives this postseason with the Toronto Maple Leafs a fighting chance.