Report: Mitch Marner will not return to Maple Leafs

There was rampant speculation that he would be playing for a new team next season, but there was always the chance the Leafs and Marner would come to an agreement on a new contract.

That appears to not be in the cards anymore. Elliotte Friedman also reported on the "32 Thoughts" podcast that he believes Marner is heading to a Western Conference team.

A huge loss

Despite the flack he took for his playoff performances and perceived softness on the ice, Marner will go down as one of the best hometown Leafs of all time.

He hit the 100-point plateau this past season and has been a major catalyst for the Leafs offense ever since he was drafted.

It will be a challenge to replace Marner’s production — 100-point players don’t grow on trees.

Could Matthew Knies fill in for Marner while adding more grit as he develops as an NHL player? Maybe, but to expect Knies to be as dynamic and offensively talented as Marner is asking for a lot.

This is a loss for the Leafs.

Opening the door for Tavares

Further to the news on Marner’s almost certain departure, it appears this could open the door for John Tavares to re-sign with the Leafs after all.

Tavares is coming off an 80-point campaign and clearly still has it even with his age. Keeping him in the fold will limit the turnover in the Leafs’ top-six and provide some stability to the locker room.

However, there is still the risk of the team culture remaining the same if the current and former captains are still around. It will be interesting to see what the Leafs decide with Tavares on July 1.