Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Thursday it's "imperative" to get Mitch Marner signed before July 1, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.
If the Leafs don't sign Marner to a contract before July 1, he would be left exposed to restricted free agency, where another team could sign him to an offer sheet. This would prove problematic for the salary-cap crunched Maple Leafs, who would be forced to match the offer in order to retain Marner's services.
The Maple Leafs project to have roughly $13 million in cap space for next season, and Marner could potentially demand an annual figure north of $10 million. Key forwards Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen are also RFAs this summer.
Marner is coming off a breakout 94-point season, which led the Leafs and ranked 11th in the NHL.
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