The Toronto Maple Leafs need to trade Marner, not extend him.

In an appearance on TSN 1050 Wednesday morning, expert Darren Dreger spoke about the Mitch Marner saga and indicated he believes Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving would rather extend Marner than move him. If such is the case, a few things come to mind.

At the Maple Leafs’ post-mortem press conference, after yet another seven-game loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round, the Toronto brass mentioned they would be “looking at everything” in the goal of finally winning the Stanley Cup.

Considering how much criticism Marner endured for his performance in the playoffs and the treatment received in the media, many predicted he would be moved out of town in the coming months.

However, no one from the Maple Leafs’ organization has explicitly said: we’re going to be trading Marner. It was obviously implied that the Core Four could be split up, but it wasn’t directly said.

Amid their first-round series against Boston, analyst Elliotte Friedman warned on his 32 Thoughts podcast that unless Toronto pulled off a spectacular comeback after going behind 3-1, it would be the end of the Core Four.

They might not have totally pulled it off, but they got extremely close and played like a true team to get to Game 7. Could it be that the front office did look at everything and concluded the Core Four should be permitted yet another kick at the can?

If the change promised turns out to be letting rid of Sheldon Keefe and Guy Boucher, it hardly seems sufficient. They weren’t the ones playing the games and after eight years and only one series win, I doubt a simple change of voice in the locker room can alter the problem.

Marner is not the only member of the Core Four on an expiring deal, captain John Tavares is in the similar predicament. Could he be the one transported out of town? It seems doubtful and if that were to happen it’s hard to envision the supporters reacting warmly.

By the time his contract ends, Tavares will be 34 and will not be able to ask for the moon in extension talks. Would selling him and placing the “C” on Auston Matthews‘ jersey make sense? I believe it may work, but the essential thing here is to make sure that if and when a deal is done, Treliving doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

He’s already inked two deals himself with Matthews and William Nylander, and they both feature a full no-movement clause.

It’s crucial for the Maple Leafs not to paint themselves into a corner as much as they have thus far. It’s all well and good to assume you’ve got all the proper parts in place, but not giving yourself any margin for prospective revisions is not just arrogant but also ill-advised.

After attempting the same recipe for years now, Toronto is finally ready to explore the concept of making some modifications, but can they? The Core Four players have full control of their destiny and if they do not choose to move on, nobody can compel them.

Could the team pursue trading Nylander or Matthews? With the cap hits their contracts have, it’s exceedingly doubtful that a general manager would want to take on such contracts. Even if someone wanted to, it wouldn’t happen without the player’s say so.

If Dreger is right and Treliving would rather extend Marner than move him, what’s the rationale behind that? Is he frightened of looking bad following the transaction? Is he scared that if he trades Marner, he’ll just go on to win the Stanley Cup elsewhere as Nazem Kadri did with the Colorado Avalanche?

If that is the case, what makes him think that maintaining hold of Marner couldn’t backfire just as badly? Is there any guarantee that once he has signed a contract deal, things will come together in the playoffs? No, there is not. Furthermore, if after change was promised none is done except from coaching changes, the ire will be much more strong.

The role of GM is not for the faint of heart and being able to make the tough decisions is what it’s all about. Whatever decision he chooses though, there will always be others to criticize it.

It wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Core Four members all opened the season in Toronto. Moving players with such huge contracts is no easy process and it can be a marathon rather than a sprint. If they do, it won’t necessarily be indication that Treliving didn’t want to deal any of them, he could have tried and failed.

In any case, extending Marner would be a mistake in my opinion. When Brendan Shanahan chose to remove Kyle Dubas and replace him with Treliving, he wanted things to change. What purpose would it have been to change the GM only for the new one to just continue the exact same course as his predecessor?

Finally, simply discussing the possibility of extending Marner demonstrates that Treliving is utterly estranged from the Toronto fan base.

When things are going well, Scotiabank Arena is a very sedate venue, but when the fans are angry, they have possibly the shortest temper in the league. The boos, the chants, the jersey flinging on the ice, we’ve all seen it and it’s not something the organization should want to face again.