Georges Laraque: 'Forget Marner in Montreal'

Maybe the CH will be in the running for his services this summer.

We also know that the Habs will have room under the payroll to make a big splash.

And Marner in Montreal, on the same line as Ivan Demidov, would make some people salivate. We’re talking about a player who has averaged 95 points over the last four NHL seasons…

Georges Laraque and Stéphane Gonzalez also discussed the subject today on BPM Sports.

And in Laraque’s eyes, this project should be forgotten for one reason in particular: Marner won’t sign in Montreal because the Habs are the Leafs’ sworn enemy.

Georges Laraque, who has already found himself in a similar situation during his NHL career, finds it hard to see Mitch Marner agreeing to the terms of a contract with the Tricolore in the context of his playing in Toronto since the start of his career.

That makes sense.

But where I see it being illogical is in terms of salary.

Mitch Marner, right now, has all the arguments on his side to sign a contract that will pay him a LOT of money per year. He’s among the NHL’s elite, he’s been one of the league’s top scorers for several years, and at 28, he’s going to want to sign the best contract (money-wise) possible.

I can’t see Kent Hughes paying him a salary of $12, $13 or even $14 million per season with the upcoming contracts.

Because let’s not forget one thing: Suzuki, Caufield and Slaf are already under contract and they’re going to earn more than $7.5 M per season each in the next few years… and there’s also Demidov’s and Hutson’s contracts, which are going to be very, very expensive.

I’d like to see Mitch Marner score 100 points a season in Montreal. Don’t get me wrong.

But it has to make sense too…

In gusto

– Oh.

– To be continued.

– Too cute.

– I love it!