5 potential free agency destinations for Mitch Marner

All signs are pointing to Mitch Marner testing the free-agent market this summer.

Marner, 28, will be one of the most coveted free agents available this offseason and will be in for a giant pay day on his next deal. The former 2015 first-round pick is coming off his first career 100-point season, collecting 102 in 81 regular-season games. Marner would go on to post 13 points in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games this spring; however, if you dig a little bit into the numbers, he scored just once in the second round, in Game 2, and registered just one assist between Games 4 and 7 of the series.

Marner’s coming off a contract which paid him $10.9 million AAV, and depending on where he signs, and what the income tax situation is, he could be in store for something closer to $13 million annually. For the sake of this article, I’ll assume the Maple Leafs are not an option at this point, as during the regular season, they offered him what would have been the richest contract in franchise history, which was declined.

With the likelihood of Marner moving on, here are five teams to keep an eye on as potential free-agent destinations for the dynamic, two-way forward:

Carolina Hurricanes

If Marner wants a quieter market and a legitimate chance to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, the Hurricanes make a ton of sense. Carolina tried to make a deal with the Leafs during the regular season, but once Marner wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause in-season, the ‘Canes moved in another direction and dealt Mikko Rantanen to Dallas.

The Hurricanes have over $28 million in offseason cap space, and they’ll also be in the market to move underperforming Jesperi Kotkaniemi, which could free up another $4.8 million AAV, so money shouldn’t be an issue at all with these negotiations. General Manager Eric Tulsky has money to burn this summer, and I’m fully expecting to see them go all in to try and lure Marner to Carolina.

The Hurricanes have been getting pounded by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, and once again, are going to make it close to the big dance, but close only counts in horseshoes. The Hurricanes desperately need a game-breaking forward, and Marner is the perfect candidate, as not only can he put up points in a hurry, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour will love his strong two-way play.

With Carolina’s financial flexibility available to Tulsky this offseason, they have a chance to not only add Marner but also add a top-four defenceman via free agency. Keep an eye on the Hurricanes, they make perfect sense as a legitimate contender in the Marner sweepstakes.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Kyle Dubas connection is obvious, but there’s also the connection to Sidney Crosby. Marner and Crosby have become close over the years and have spent time training together for the past couple of summers. Marner could be someone to push the Penguins back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, but also be there to take the torch from Crosby once he retires.

Dubas and company are trying to do two things: get better, but also younger, so adding the 28-year-old Marner checks both boxes. It would give the Penguins a piece for their long-term core of their roster, and bring in someone the team and management are very familiar with. We all know how much Dubas values familiarity.

The Penguins have a projected $24.5 million in cap space to work with this offseason. Besides some secondary pieces on their roster, there’s no glaring pending free agents to be concerned about, and there’s a decent chance Dubas tries to move Erik Karlsson and his $10-million cap hit this summer, which could create even more financial flexibility.

Marner playing alongside Crosby is something that will appeal to the Maple Leafs great. Even if it’s for the final two years of Crosby’s career, the Penguins’ captain hasn’t slowed down one bit, and could open up a realm of possibilities for Marner to find his killer instinct when push comes to shove in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Who better to learn how to win from than Sid?

By all accounts, Dubas and Marner’s relationship is strong, and this familiarity could certainly come into play this summer. Dubas loves bringing in ‘his guys’. This could be a match made in Penguins’ heaven this offseason.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks should have interest in Marner, and they certainly have the resources to get a lucrative contract extension completed. It’s going to come down to whether Marner wants to wait a couple of seasons, or longer, to be a contending team. If it’s winning that matters, the Blackhawks won’t have a chance; if it’s – ‘who’s going to pay me the most?’, then the Blackhawks have an outside chance.

Connor Bedard being fed sauce-pass one-timers from Marner would be fun to watch, and he could certainly elevate Bedard’s game. The bright lights in Chicago are a player’s dream, and with the expectations of the team reasonably low still, the pressure to win won’t be felt for at least one or two seasons.

The Blackhawks tried to surround Bedard with some talent last summer, and they wound up at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Marner’s leaps and bounds are better than anyone GM Kyle Davidson signed last offseason, so he could be the breath of fresh air the Blackhawks are looking for, especially for keeping Bedard happy, and wanting to stay in Chicago long term.

New York Islanders

The Islanders have made significant changes to their front office, bringing in Mathieu Darche to run the roster management, and his first order of business could be to hand out a mega-contract to Marner on July 1st.

The Isles have $26.5 million to work with for cap space this summer, but do need to re-sign defenceman Noah Dobson long term; however, besides that, the rest of their free agents are just secondary support. They have room to bring in a much-needed game-breaking forward, and Marner is a perfect candidate.

New York has had issues over the last few seasons scoring goals, and Marner could help propel the offence. The Islanders averaged just 2.71 goals per game last season, which ranked them fourth last in the NHL, so Darche could look to address the team’s more glaring issue on July 1, when Marner’s free to sign anywhere he pleases. With the Isles’ veteran core and feeling like they are only a piece or two away from Stanley Cup contender status, there could be interest from Marner and his camp.

A big factor in the decision will be where Marner and his wife want to raise their young child. We’ll have to wait and see if the bright lights of New York make the list. For an on-ice fit, the Islanders appear to be a solid contender to win the sweepstakes.

Los Angeles Kings

A strong defensive hockey club. the Kings can’t get passed the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, and could turn to Marner to help them get over the hump. Los Angeles has $21.7 million in available cap space this summer; their only significant internal free agent is defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov, who would still be a contender to re-sign, even with Marner taking up close to two-thirds of the Kings’ available cap space. Playing hockey in sunny California for the second half of his career could be something that appeals to Marner. He’s close to Drew Doughty, has played with Joel Edmundson and Trevor Moore, and head coach Jim Hiller was the Maple Leafs’ primary assistant coach from 2015-2019. Plenty of connections to connect the dots to the Kings.

Anze Kopitar will be 38 years old before the start of the 2025-26 season, and with just one season left on his contract, the Kings have some financial flexibility coming, and also a desire to build around a younger core, which includes 22-year-old Quinton Byfield, and 28-year-old Kevin Fiala, and 22-year-old blueliner Brandt Clarke. Marner’s in his prime, and could be a perfect two-way complement to what the Kings have going in L.A.

TSN’s Darren Dreger recently reported he feels significant changes are coming in Toronto, and Marner appears dead set to test free agency. “I think we’ve all embraced the reality that change is needed … and when a player has earned his right to unrestricted free agency, why wouldn’t you look at what your possibilities are? As hard as Marner and company have tried to get over the hump in Toronto, it may never happen.”

As far as Marner’s vibe at the end-of-season media availability, he spoke mostly in the past tense, and didn’t flat out state he’d like to re-sign with the Maple Leafs. It appears the end is near for one of the best Maple Leafs in franchise history, and it’s truly unfortunate that Marner was never able to live out his childhood dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup in Toronto.

“I’ve always loved my time here. I’ve loved being here,” Marner said during his end-of-season media availability. “I’ve been so grateful.”

Leafs Nation should feel grateful as well. Marner was fun to watch, putting on a show for close to a decade, but there’s no doubt it’s starting to feel like losing to the Panthers in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs was his final episode.