John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Mitch Marner Called Out by 3x Stanley Cup Champion Who Urges Leafs to Invest Smarter

Originally posted on Blade of Steel | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 10:57 AM ET

The Maple Leafs appear set on letting Mitch Marner go in free agency, and now a former three-time Cup winner has urged the team to not pay him a big deal.

NHL free agency is set to be chaos this summer, and while there's plenty of intriguing talent available, Mitch Marner remains the biggest name available to all 32 NHL teams this summer.

It appears as though he's only available to 31 teams however, as he's all but confirmed that he'll be departing the Maple Leafs, and now former three-time Stanley Cup winner Ken Daneyko has revealed his thoughts on Mitch Marner potentially getting paid upwards of $14 million a season.

'I've said it many times over the last week, and this is nothing against Mitch Marner. I am in no way paying Mitch Marner $14 million. I'm talking about building my team, and am I going to win it all? It's about winning the Stanley Cup and paying Mitch Marner 14 million. I just don't see it. God bless him. If he gets it, he's a heck of a player, and he's going to help some team make the playoffs, and maybe in the right situation, he will produce in the playoffs, but I'm just not doing it. I can't, in good conscience, give him that kind of money. That's just my view, and I think he's a terrific hockey player, don't get me wrong.
But if I'm overpaying a guy, which is an overpayment for me, I get the caps going up. I get it, timing is everything, and he's had a good time here where there are not a lot of top-end free agents. I'm just not giving him 14 million bucks because I just don't think it's conducive for my team to have him make that kind of money. I kind of slot my guys. And I'll overpay guys that maybe are a 60-point guy or 50-point guy like Sam Bennett, because I know what I'm getting.'

Unsurprisingly, he's echoed the sentiments of many around the NHL that Marner is a great player, but at $14 million a season, there's certainly better ways to invest all of that money.

For example, the team could likely retain John Tavares and add Brad Marchand or Sam Bennett for the same amount of money, with those two likely to be much more effective than Marner, so whoever adds No. 16 this summer will need to be aware that they may be making a huge overpayment.

This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: