Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman may soon have an opportunity to take serious advantage of the Maple Leafs
Photo credit: https://www.mlive.com/redwings/2024/12/ville-hussos-resiliency-nets-huge-win-for-red-wings.html
The balance of power in the Atlantic Division could soon take a monumental shift! Could Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman soon take advantage of the Maple Leafs?
The Detroit Red Wings took down their divisional foe Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, a 4-2 final score.
It was a thrilling atmosphere for fans to attend, as there were plenty of Leafs fans decked out in blue who tried to cheer on their team only for their loud change to be countered by Red Wings fans.
Overall, it made for a playoff-like setting and a preview of what the 1st postseason Red Wings game at the venue (whenever that will be) could be like.
The Maple Leafs have critical decisions to make before the free agency period begins on July 1, and a major question mark is where forward Mitch Marner will play next year.
Has the first domino already fallen on a potential departure from Toronto for Marner? According to the JD Bunkis podcast, the Maple Leafs have already pitched a contract offer to Marner and his camp, but were rebuffed.
My understanding of what has happened with Marner is that, actually now, they have tried to extend him a number, and he's the one, and his camp are the ones, that are actually saying 'yeah, we're actually going to wait on this thing and see how it goes. We might want to be the ones that hit free agency.'
Right now, Marner is in the final year of his current contract which earns him an AAV (annual average value) of $10,901,333. With the way that he's putting up the points in what could be his last year with the Leafs, he'll be in line for a considerable raise.
The highest-paid Red Wings player is captain Dylan Larkin, with an AAV of $8.7 million.
There will be several contracts coming off Detroit's books after this year, including Patrick Kane, Ville Husso, Christian Fischer, Tyler Motte, and Jeff Petry.
The Red Wings currently have less than $4 million in available cap space, but that number should increase dramatically with the aforementioned contracts expiring along with the reported increase in the salary cap for next year.
If Marner were to be enticed to join the up and coming Red Wings, it could represent a major balance of power in the Atlantic Division.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 17 | 132 ANSWERS Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman may soon have an opportunity to take serious advantage of the Maple Leafs Should Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman attempt to sign Mitch Marner from the Maple Leafs if he hits free agency? | ||
| Yes, his talent is undeniable and would be huge | 74 | 56.1 % |
| No, he would cost too much | 58 | 43.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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