Report: Brad Marchand is Maple Leafs’ primary target in free agency

The Toronto Maple Leafs will reportedly be focusing their efforts on signing Brad Marchand if he becomes a free agent, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle.

While there is an understanding that the likely outcome is that he re-signs with the Florida Panthers, there is motivation on the Leafs’ side to get a deal done if the 37-year-old hits the market on July 1st. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun also noted that the Boston Bruins are open to a reunion with their former captain.

“As far as I can gather, the Leafs’ biggest bet on July 1 is apparently going to be an attempt to sign Brad Marchand,” Mirtle wrote. “That would obviously eat up a huge percentage of their remaining cap space — likely in the $8 million range — with the understanding the 37-year-old would be a big part of their top-six for the next few years.

He later added that while some may have anticipated that Nikolaj Ehlers would be a fallback option for the Leafs should things not materialize with Marchand, the expectation is that Ehlers will be signing elsewhere in the league.

This is the latest development in the Marchand saga, where it has become more apparent with each passing day that he will either re-sign with the Stanley Cup champions or sign with his childhood team. The reasons why the Leafs might be interested in getting the veteran forward are obvious: he is a difference-maker who knows how to effectively get under the opponent’s skin while also producing well offensively. Marchand also would help build on the culture shift that the Leafs are trying to instill under Brad Treliving and Craig Berube, while also likely being a focal point in the locker room.

Despite always being on rival teams, he has always taken the time to speak highly of his long-time adversary, which was especially evident this past season. Marchand even defended the Leafs after beating them in Game 7, though it’s up to interpretation whether or not he was being sincere with his words.

“I think if you look at the heat this team catches, it’s actually really unfortunate,” he said following Game 7. “They’ve been working at building something really big here for awhile, and they were a different brand of hockey this year, and they’re getting crucified, and I don’t think it’s justified just because they weren’t able to do it. We’re a really good and deep team too, and that’s how things go sometimes.”

Nick Kypreos reported on Leafs Morning Take on June 20th that there was a good chance that Marchand would end up on the Leafs on July 1st. Marchand later commented on an Instagram post from The Leafs Nation about the report during the Stanley Cup celebrations, saying “S*** dawg, the people wanna see it?”

It remains to be seen at the time of writing if he will indeed be donning the Blue and White as a lot can change between now and when the market opens. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during the second day of the draft that the Panthers submitted an offer to Marchand’s camp and are awaiting back to hear what he has decided. As mentioned earlier, the likely outcome is that Florida will be able to retain their marquee trade-deadline acquisition.

But if that doesn’t materialize, then there is a good chance that Marchand will instead be suiting up for the Leafs. Between this and the rumours of the team working on a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights centred around Mitch Marner, the Leafs will no doubt be different by the time the 2025-26 season kicks off.