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Shocking West Team Could Be Highest Bidder For Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Levine | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 12:33 PM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to lose star forward Mitch Marner this offseason as he enters free agency. Marner has been rumored to garner a massive payday, and there will be no shortage of interested teams.

One team that has been linked to going after Marner this summer is the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim took a big jump in the standings this past season and is now ready to make a splash.

With new head coach Joel Quenneville in the mix, Anaheim could be a destination spot. And according to NHL insider James Mirtle of The Athletic, the Ducks are being seen as the team that could potentially offer Marner the largest contract.

"Several folks pointed to Anaheim and GM Pat Verbeek wanting to make a big move or two to finally push the young club forward after seven consecutive years out of the playoffs...Some of the chatter is that they’ll potentially be the high bidder for Mitch Marner, with an unheard-of average annual value north of the $14 million that the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl currently makes as the NHL’s highest-paid player."

Adding Marner to the mix would drastically change the way the Ducks are seen around the NHL. Anaheim has a nice young nucleus, and bringing in a legitimate scoring option like Marner could help them take the next step forward.

Marner scored 27 goals and 75 assists for the Maple Leafs this past season, showing very strong production. Whether he would be interested in joining the Ducks is a different story, but Anaheim could be a good landing spot for the star forward.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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