Mitch Marner apparently declined an offer that would've made him one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.
The Toronto Maple Leafs offered the restricted free-agent winger a contract with an annual cap hit of $11 million in June, according to TSN's Darren Dreger. The average annual value would've tied Marner with Drew Doughty and teammate John Tavares as the fourth-highest paid player in the league.
The $11-million offer also included performance bonuses that the club wouldn't pay during his entry-level contract, according to Dreger.
The Leafs have been pushing both seven- and eight-year contracts for Marner, Dreger added. However, a three-year extension now remains the focus, which would be problematic for Toronto, as his salary in the final season could be as high as $12 million. Marner could then accept the $12-million qualifying offer and walk into unrestricted free agency after the fourth year.
San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, one of the few premium RFAs to get a deal done, signed a similar contract earlier this offseason. He inked a four-year, $24-million backloaded deal to assure he gets a $10-million qualifying offer in his final year of restricted free agency.
The Leafs currently have a projected cap hit of $85.35 million - nearly $4 million above the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly. However, the dead contracts of David Clarkson and Nathan Horton (combined $10.5M AAV) are projected to hit long-term injured reserve, and Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott (combined $3.13M AAV) could join them on LTIR to begin the season.
The Leafs can also option a couple of players to the minors to create additional cap space.
Marner finished 11th in league scoring in 2018-19 with 94 points.
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