NHL insider reveals why the Toronto Maple Leafs have not re-signed Mitch Marner yet

Mitch Marner is without a doubt one of the most important players for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Through 54 games this season he leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 55 assists for a whooping 71 points.

That ties him with none other than Connor McDavid for fourth in the NHL in scoring this season.

Given this prolific scoring pace, combined with his long history of being a top scorer for the team, one can imagine what kind of money Marner is expecting on his next deal.

After all, Auston Matthews is making over 13 million dollars a season and William Nylander just signed a deal worth 11.5 million a year, topping Marner's current 11 million dollar cap hit.

With all of that being said, NHL insider David Pagnotta revealed today that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not willing to give Marner more than 13 million dollars a season, so he will not be the team's highest-paid player if he chooses to re-sign there.

What does this mean for the Leafs? Well, if Marner believes he is worth more than that, and he is unwilling to take a home-town discount, he very well could test the free agency market.

If he chooses that path, there will almost certainly be teams around the league that are willing to offer him more money.

As such, we could be witnessing the last season Marner spends as a Toronto Maple leaf.

Marner has appeared in 630 career NHL games, all with Toronto, and has 210 goals and 500 assists for 710 career points.

Losing him would be a huge blow to the team, but perhaps it would be an opportunity to try something new as this core has not been good enough to get the job done in the playoffs.