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The Toronto Maple Leafs are in for a huge offseason this time. After losing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the team made some big decisions. Now, the franchise is waiting for a clarity from superstar Mitch Marner before making any moves this offseason.
Marner signed a 6-year contract extension with the Maple Leafs in 2019. He is currently in the final year of this contract and will become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA).
If that happens, it will bring an end to the ‘Core 4’ era of the team. Alongside Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares, Marner forms the ‘Core 4’ of the Maple Leafs. His loss could be a big one for the team.
As the speculations regarding his future grow, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared his thoughts on the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast regarding this. As per the Sportsnet Insider, the team will ask for some clarity from the 28-year-old regarding his future before making any move.
I think, first of all, the Maple Leafs are going to ask for clarity. Just where is this going? Is it 100% you are testing free agency on July 1st? Or is there any conversation that can be had here? And that’s what I think they’ll do, is they’ll ask that first and see what the answer is, and go from there.
The Maple Leafs are expected to seek clarity on where things stand with Mitch Marner before proceeding this offseason.
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) May 26, 2025
“Is it 100% you’re testing free agency on July 1st? Or is there a conversation to be had here?.”
That’s the first thing Toronto wants to know — and once… pic.twitter.com/GIIRWn0lCp
Marner and the Maple Leafs could sign a contract extension and avoid the free agency saga. However, at the moment, it is unclear what the forward star wants.
Mitch Marner reportedly declined a massive contract extension with Maple Leafs earlier this season
The contract situation of Mitch Marner has been one thing that has concerned the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout the season. A recent report suggests that the Canadian international declined to sign a massive contract extension.
As per The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel, the Maple Leafs tried to tie him down to a huge deal. According to him, the team offered an 8-year contract, that would have been the largest in franchise history.
This reportedly took place before the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Marner would decline this offer. At the moment, the biggest contract in Maple Leafs history belongs to their current captain, Auston Matthews. The American forward signed a 4-year, $53 million deal which sees him earning $13.25 million annually.
The Leafs attempted to sign Mitch Marner to a contract extension during the season. The organization chose not to wait and see how the postseason played out.
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) May 21, 2025
They wanted Marner to stay. If they had signed him to an eight-year deal, it would have marked the largest contract…
Earlier in the season, there were also talks about the Maple Leafs trading him away. The Carolina Hurricanes would try to trade him with Mikko Rantanen. He refused to waive his no-trade clause and decided to remain with his hometown team a little bit longer.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube wants Mitch Marner to return to the team for next season
At the moment, it is unclear whether Mitch Marner will be playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. Head coach Craig Berube was recently asked about him and John Tavares (he is also expected to leave the team) and whether he would like the team to re-sign them.
The 58-year-old nodded his head and said, “100 percent” before leaving the podium. Berube, who is expected to have a bigger role next season following the departure of President Branden Shanahan, wants Marner to return to them.
Asked by @koshtorontosun if he’d like to see the Leafs re-sign Marner & Tavares, Craig Berube said “100%.”
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 20, 2025
Marner has been part of the Maple Leafs since the 2016-17 season. During this tenure, he has become a key member of the team and has come up with some big moments. In the 657 regular-season games for the Maple Leafs, he has 221 goals and 520 assists (741 points). The Leafs fans would be hoping for this tally to continue with them only from next season.
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Hockey Canada announces preliminary roster for 2026 Olympics
Hockey Canada will host an orientation camp from Aug. 26 to 28 in Calgary in preparation for its men’s, women’s and para hockey teams as they begin to formulate their rosters for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the governing body announced Friday. That number includes 42 NHL players, locking in a list of potential names for the final rosters, which can be a maximum of 25 players (22 skaters, three goalies). The IIHF had previously announced Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, and Sam Reinhart as the country’s first six players back in June. One position that appears set for the Canadians is goaltending. Only three netminders are on their orientation camp roster: Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault. That’s the same trio that backstopped Canada to a win in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Here’s the full initial talent pool that Canada’s braintrust will be choosing from, with an asterisk by each of the six players already locked into the roster: Forwards Connor Bedard (Blackhawks) Sam Bennett (Panthers) Quinton Byfield (Kings) Macklin Celebrini (Sharks) Anthony Cirelli (Lightning) Sidney Crosby (Penguins)* Brandon Hagel (Lightning) Bo Horvat (Islanders) Zach Hyman (Oilers) Seth Jarvis (Hurricanes) Wyatt Johnston (Stars) Travis Konecny (Flyers) Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)* Brad Marchand (Panthers) Mitch Marner (Golden Knights) Connor McDavid (Oilers)* Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Oilers) Brayden Point (Lightning)* Sam Reinhart (Panthers)* Mark Scheifele (Jets) Mark Stone (Golden Knights) Nick Suzuki (Canadiens) John Tavares (Maple Leafs) Robert Thomas (Blues) Carter Verhaeghe (Panthers) Tom Wilson (Capitals) Defensemen Evan Bouchard (Oilers) Noah Dobson (Canadiens) Drew Doughty (Kings) Aaron Ekblad (Panthers) Thomas Harley (Stars) Cale Makar (Avalanche)* Brandon Montour (Kraken) Josh Morrissey (Jets) Colton Parayko (Blues) Travis Sanheim (Flyers) Shea Theodore (Golden Knights) Devon Toews (Avalanche) MacKenzie Weegar (Flames) Goaltenders Jordan Binnington (Blues) Adin Hill (Golden Knights) Sam Montembeault (Canadiens) Hockey Canada has already announced its front office, led by Blues GM Doug Armstrong with Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, Stars GM Jim Nill, and Bruins GM Don Sweeney as his assistants. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is Canada’s director of player personnel and also had input in orientation camp selection, per the release, along with head coach Jon Cooper and former Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who’s with the team as a player relations advisor.
Jerry Jones is getting exactly what he wants with Micah Parsons drama
Do not let any of the noise and drama fool you. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is getting exactly what he wants with the Micah Parsons contract negotiation, even as it reached a boiling point on Friday with the star edge-rusher declaring a public trade demand. It's the perfect storm for Jones because all of this is doing the one thing that he loves more than anything in the world. It is keeping his team, his beloved Dallas Cowboys, as the top story in the NFL and the top headliner maker in the league. His team, his player and his story are the one thing that everybody is talking about. It's the top headline on every sports website. It's the top story on "SportsCenter" and ESPN. It's dominating the radio waves. It's put a spotlight on the Cowboys star and driven all of the NFL's discussions toward them. It doesn't matter if it's overly dramatic — or even bad press. It's still press. It's still focus on them. In Jones' world, the motto of "no press is bad press" is very much a way of life. He isn't worried about getting the best deal for the Cowboys or their salary-cap situation, and he might not even be concerned with putting the best possible team on the field. He is simply concerned with the Cowboys being the league's biggest newsmaker. There is a reason all of these big-time contract negotiations play out this way for the Cowboys. Whether it was Zack Martin, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb or Parsons, they have all played out the same way. The Cowboys dragged their feet, a holdout was either threatened or started, the bridges seemed to be burning between the player and team, the negotiations would dominate the news cycle and then eventually a new, more expensive deal would eventually emerge. That is almost certainly how this process is going to play out. Trade demands get made all the time in the NFL, and they do not guarantee a trade will get made. It is often a last-ditch negotiating tactic to speed things along. They usually work in that context. By the time the regular season rolls around, the Cowboys and Parsons will likely come to terms on a contract, and all of this will be forgotten. It will probably end up costing Jones and the organization more than it would have had they agreed to a deal sooner, but again, that wouldn't have given the Cowboys the headlines they want. It is almost as if Jones likes having to pay top dollar because then he can talk about how he negotiated and paid out the most expensive deal. It's about glitz and glamour as opposed to dollars and cents. All of this fits in with Jones' overall mindset and approach when it comes to running the Cowboys. He is the decision-maker. He is the football guy. He is the only owner who does weekly news conferences after every game as if he's the coach, and he is the only owner who does a weekly radio show discussing the X's and O's of the team. It's all about satisfying his own ego, and nothing satisfies his ego more than seeing his team and his name in the news. A drawn-out contract negotiation is the best way to do that when there are no games being played. In terms of on-field success, the Cowboys have mostly been an afterthought over the past 30 years. No Super Bowls, no NFC Championship Game appearances (the longest current drought in the NFC) and mostly mediocre finishes. Any other franchise with that sort of track record would be an afterthought in the NFL. But not the Cowboys. Not Jerry Jones. It is all by design. It's the only thing they want and care about.
Five biggest losers from the 2025 MLB trade deadline
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline was 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. Some teams managed to get better in either a short-term or long-term outlook. Other teams did not. We've already gone over the five biggest winners, which featured some surprising teams. Here we are focusing on the five teams that were the biggest losers. Minnesota Twins The good news for Twins fans is the team did not trade outfielder Byron Buxton or starting pitcher Joe Ryan. The bad news for Twins fans is the team traded pretty much everybody else. The worst news is the Twins have pretty much sabotaged any goodwill the team had built up in recent years, including their 2023 trip to the American League Division Series. Since then the Twins collapsed late last season, did very little in the offseason and then completely gutted the roster over the past two weeks, including a straight salary-dump trade of Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros, his former team. This is going to be a long, slow climb back to the top. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates had a chance to have a potentially impactful trade deadline with some intriguing trade chips in what had become a seller's market. They ended up trading closer David Bednar, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Bailey Falter and relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson. They held on to pending free agents Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. What's so baffling about the trades they did make is that they gave up useful, productive players with years of team control still remaining, did not get a single highly-ranked prospect back in return and kept the players that are going to leave for nothing. The only winner here is owner Bob Nutting's bank account for all of the money he saved in the future by dumping Hayes' contract and potential arbitration years from Bednar and Falter. Chicago Cubs After paying a steep price to get outfielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason everybody in Chicago knew the clock was ticking on the Cubs to build a winner around him. He is a free agent after this season and seems determined to hit the open market for the highest bidder. Even though the Cubs have emerged as a contender, it was pretty clear as the season has gone on that they needed at least one more starting pitcher. They did not get one, and instead only added a utility infielder (Willi Castro) and reliever Taylor Rogers. While so many teams around them in the NL managed to get better, it's an underwhelming deadline performance for a team that should be going all in. Atlanta Braves It's not that the Braves did anything poor at the trade deadline that makes them losers. It's that they didn't do ... anything. At least not anything that they needed to do. None of their pending free agents were moved, no significant changes were made to a team going nowhere this season and the only move they did make was a marginal trade involving Rafael Montero. That is extremely underwhelming. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were rumored to be in the market for a significant starting pitcher, including Minnesota's Joe Ryan. They did not make that sort of splash move, and instead added Steven Matz and Dustin May. For a team trying to hang in the American League playoff race, that is not really exciting. They also paid a steep price to get May, giving up one of the top prospects — outfielder James Tibbs III — they acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the San Francisco Giants.
Report: Knicks made a signing based on Giannis Antetokounmpo trade belief
The New York Knicks aren't waiting for the offseason drama surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks to end before taking care of a key signing for their roster this summer. Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the Knicks signed Mikal Bridges to a four-year deal worth $150M on Thursday. "New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges has agreed to a four-year, $150 million contract extension with the franchise, agents Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports Management tell ESPN," Charania posted on X. "The new deal includes a player option for 2029-30 and a trade kicker." Bridges' extension might not have happened if the Knicks believed they had a serious shot to land an elite player in a trade this summer. Per Ashish Mathur of Hoops Wire, the Knicks made their decision to sign Bridges to a new deal after they learned Antetokounmpo plans to stay in Milwaukee. "The New York Knicks got intel that Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t request a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks before signing Mikal Bridges to an extension, an NBA source told Hoops Wire on Thursday," Mathur wrote. "...The Knicks would have pursued Giannis Antetokounmpo had the two-time MVP requested a trade from the Bucks. All signs point toward Antetokounmpo remaining in Milwaukee." Due to the player option Bridges has in his new deal, the guard cannot be traded for at least six months. Mathur's report signals the reality that New York wants to land another star to pair with Jalen Brunson. However, the Knicks might not make a big splash until the trade deadline next year. The Knicks need a big man who can score and play defense at a high level in the playoffs, something Karl-Anthony Towns was unable to do in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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