The Toronto Maple Leafs are going through their usual off-season routine. Point fingers at who's at fault for the ninth-straight playoff disappointment, check. Create excuses for why they lost and how they could be in the finals, check. Wonder who of the core-four is going to be moved, check.
This year is a little different, however, as the Leafs made it the furthest they have in the Matthews-Marner era, and a member of the core-four is likely going to leave.
The aforementioned Mitch Marner is a pending UFA and is all but gone at this point, and this era of Leafs hockey is likely over.
As much as it pains me and many other fans to watch a star like Marner leave for nothing, this may be the best move going forward, and another Toronto team faced a similar situation not too long ago, with an eventual NBA Championship not too far in their future.
The 2018-19 Toronto Raptors were coming off of five straight playoff appearances, winning their division in four of them. Yet the team failed to reach the finals in every single season.
In the summer of 2018, superstar and face of the franchise Demar DeRozan was moved along with Jakub Poeltl and a first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Danny Green and former Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard was one of the top players in the NBA for most of the mid 2010s, yet only played 9 games in the 2017-18 season. The Raptors took a risk on Leonard and it worked out, as he led their team to the 2019 NBA Title.
Demar DeRozan was the sacrifice that had to be made, and Marner could be the same piece for the Leafs. The key difference is Marner is a UFA who could leave for nothing, whereas DeRozan brought the Raptors their Finals MVP.
Recent rumours have mentioned how the Leafs could move Marner in a sign-and-trade and get some assets in return, but could he fetch a return as big as a Kawhi Leonard? I'm not so sure.
The Kawhi Leonard equivalent would be the Leafs moving Marner for 2017 Jonathan Toews, which unfortunately can't happen.
If losing Marner makes the team better, I'm all for it. If the Leafs win a championship next year much like the Raptors did in 2019, I will never complain about anything again.
But if the Leafs falter after losing their star winger, it could be a rough couple of years without him.