Countdown to Free Agent Frenzy: Jackets set for another run at Marner?
Published
While the Stanley Cup Final continues, the NHL's off-season has arrived for 30 teams who are preparing for the NHL Draft starting on June 27 and Free Agent Frenzy on July 1. TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Blue Jackets to take aim at Marner?
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports the Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to pursue Toronto Maple Leafs pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner this summer - six years after first exploring an attempt to land the star winger.
Portzline notes that the The Athletic reported back in 2019 that then-Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen discussed the possibility of an offer sheet with Marner's agent Darren Ferris before he eventually signed the now-expiring six-year, $65.4 million contract ($10.9M AAV) with Toronto.
Don Waddell now sits as general manager of the Blue Jackets and, after falling just short of the playoffs this season, could look to Marner to push his team over the hump.
With the second-most cap space in the league this season with $40.4 million behind only the San Jose Sharks ($41.4 million), Portzline reports the Blue Jackets have the space to pay Marner as much or more than the league's current highest-paid player for next season Leon Draisaitl at an average annual value of $14 million.
Portzline lays out a series of arguments for Marner to consider Ohio and notes for the Blue Jackets that no player in franchise's history has ever topped 87 points, while Marner has topped 90 three times.
The 28-year-old Marner recorded 27 goals and 102 points in 81 games with the Maple Leafs this past season. He added two goals and 13 points in 13 playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round.
Drafted fourth overall by the Toronto in 2015, Marner is fifth all-time in Maple Leafs scoring with 221 goals and 741 points in 657 career games.
Kreider heading West?
The Anaheim Ducks are in talks with the New York Rangers to acquire veteran winger Chris Kreider.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger follows a report from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff confirming that discussions will follow Wednesday after progress was made Tuesday.
Kreider, 34, had 22 goals and 30 points in 68 games with the Rangers last season.
The 6-foot-3 winger is entering the sixth season of a seven-year, $45 million deal with an annual cap hit of $6.5 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
Follow the latest on the story here.
Sens in talks with pending UFAs
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Ottawa Senators have opened contract talks with pending unrestricted free agents Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins and Adam Gaudette and Anton Forsberg.
Garrioch adds it's unclear whether any of the discussions will lead to deals, but it appears doubtful the team will be able to keep Gaudette and Forsberg off the open market.
The Senators have prioritized signing Giroux, but Garrioch reports a gap remains between the two sides as negotiations continue this week. He adds the Senators initial offer to Giroux was on a one-year term and it's unclear where talks have shifted since.
Ottawa has $15 million in cap space this summer, but team owner Michael Andlauer said last week that the team does not intend to spend to the cap.
“We’re a small-market team,” Andlauer said at the team's alumni golf tournament. “We did well in the playoffs with our gate, but some teams did two-and-a-half times more revenue than we did. So, it gives you a perspective of where HRR (hockey-related revenue) is and where we fit in.
“I’m OK with that. I think we’ll be competitive. That’s why Belleville is such an important piece in ensuring that we draft and develop properly, so we have the advantage of having great players at an entry-level salary. It takes time. We’re close to the cap over the next couple of years.
“We have a core group of players who are getting into their prime, and we want to make sure we support them and make sure that it allows us to get over the top and win the Stanley Cup. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Also slated for unrestricted free agency on July 1 are forward Matthew Highmore and Hayden Hodgson and blueliners Travis Hamonic and Dennis Gilbert. Winger Fabian Zetterlund and defenceman Donovan Sebrango are in need of new deals as restricted free agents.
Noodles not believing in McDavid to Toronto
With Connor McDavid headlining the potential free-agent class of 2026, fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are among those dreaming of their team landing the superstar.
TSN's Jamie McLennan is taking a firm stance on the possibility, stating Tuesday's there's a "zero per cent" McDavid moves to Toronto next summer.
Watch the entertaining OverDrive segment below: