The report comes after the Nashville Predators made a possibly related trade today. The team moved defenseman Ryan McDonagh back to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for draft picks. Notably, the Lightning are taking on the entirety of McDonagh's cap hit. As such, the Predators clear up nearly 7 million dollars in cap space. Considering the fact that the Predators have been one of the teams in Mitch Marner rumors, this has lead many fans to speculate that Barry Trotz is simply making cap space to trade for Marner.
However, Pierre LeBrun confirmed after Trotz's interview today that the Maple Leafs have not yet discussed Marner with potential buyers. He revealed that the team has been more focused on their head coach search thus far. That being said, the Leafs officially added Craig Berube to the organization today so it stands to reason that Marner might be the next order of business.
Barry Trotz was asked if this move might be a precursor to a Marner trade but he simply dismissed the idea as a rumor. That being said, there is noise surrounding the Predators that they will be making a big move this offseason.
