"Trade Marner sign Nylander": Leafs fans debate roster viability after $65,000,000 star starts 2023-24 slow

The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in the midst of a heated debate among fans regarding the viability of their roster, particularly the performance of their star player with a hefty $65,000,000 contract. The discussion took an interesting turn when a post on r/hockey surfaced, quoting coach Sheldon Keefe's defense of Mitch Marner's recent struggles.

According to the post, Keefe acknowledged the challenges Marner faced on the ice, emphasizing that the star player led the Leafs in 5-on-5 points despite consistently facing the toughest matchups each night. Keefe urged fans to remain patient:

"We'll stay building our group & building our game, but let's not pile on the negatives here."

[Masters] Asked if he sees any frustration in Marner, coach Sheldon Keefe points out that Mitch leads the Leafs in 5-on-5 points this season despite facing the toughest match-up every night. "We'll stay building our group & building our game, but lets not pile on the negatives here" byu/Gorchonko inhockey

The Reddit community quickly responded to Keefe's statement, offering a range of opinions on Marner's performance and the overall roster dynamics. One passionate fan suggested a drastic solution:

"Trade Marner, sign Nylander."

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

However, another fan pointed out the challenges in executing such a trade, attributing the difficulty to the contracts negotiated by Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. The comment highlighted concerns about Marner's contract:

"You can’t trade Marner because of Dubas’ contracts he gave out. It’s insane how bad these contracts are."

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Amid the varied opinions, another fan took a more measured approach, evaluating Marner's contract as neither a value nor a negative value contract.

"Come on, is the Marner contract a value contract? No. Is it a negative value contract? No. I guarantee if the Leafs wanted to trade Marner and he was willing to waive trade protection, you could find a dance partner with no salary retained, albeit at a lower return. This is the sub piling on a player after a rough few games."

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Comment byu/Gorchonko from discussion inhockey

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe addresses Mitch Marner's performance concerns

Sheldon Keefe, the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, recently addressed concerns about Mitch Marner's performance, acknowledging that the star player has not performed at his best this season. According to statements reported by The Athletic, Keefe highlighted Marner's role in facing tough matchups every game and noted that despite the challenges, Marner leads the team in five-on-five scoring:

“One of them I look at is our five-on-five scoring this season and at the top of the list is Mitch Marner. Guy here that we say hasn’t played his best hockey, and has all the hardest matchups every single night, yet is at the top of our team in five-on-five scoring. So, it’s interesting how it all works out.”

Despite being in his eighth NHL season, Marner has seen a decline in performance with five goals and 20 points in the initial 19 games, including a seven-game stretch without goals and minimal points.