"More of a negative tone" - Marty Biron opines Mitch Marner shooting down Leafs extension talk is a 'bad sign'

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Sep 19, 2024 17:38 GMT

Marty Biron thinks Mitch Marner avoiding contract talk is a "bad sign" for the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Thursday, Biron said on That's Hockey that Marner's response felt negative, suggesting that the contract situation could be more complicated.

[2:30] "I think it would have been a better sign if he approached it differently," Biron said. "I think that's a bad sign because if you've had some conversation over the summer, and if you've had encouraging conversations, you're probably saying something more like, 'Things are going to get figured out. I'm not worried about it; I'm focusing on hockey.'"

Biron expected a more positive answer. Instead, Marner said he didn’t want to discuss it, which concerned Biron.

"But it had a little bit more of a tone like, 'I don't want to talk about it.'" Biron said.

After another tough playoff exit, Marner was blamed in Toronto, mostly due to his late-series scoring struggles. Marner will make $10.9 million this season and is expected to seek a higher salary in a long-term extension. However, this will not be viable for Toronto, as it has signed captain Auston Matthews and forward William Nylander to big contracts.

Biron believes a more encouraging tone would have made fans feel better about Marner staying long-term.

"So almost more of a negative tone in Mitch Marner's approach to it, saying that, well, it's going to be a complicated issue, and maybe in six months or in a year from now, we may not be as encouraged or positive about the chance of Mitch Marner staying with the Toronto Maple Leafs," Biron added.

"I understand the approach by a player, but if it had been more positive, it would have spun it a different way."

Biron’s concern is that Marner’s comments may hint at future difficulties.

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Mitch Marner talks about his contract extension

Mitch Marner, his agent Darren Ferris, and GM Brad Treliving said they want to keep contract discussions quiet during the season. Marner explained he wants to focus on playing hockey.

“I don't know if I would say that,” Marner said on Sept. 19, per Sportsnet, “But I think for my sake, unless it gets really important or (I’m) really needed, I’m going to let my agent and Brad do all the talking and figure stuff out. I'm just going to focus on playing hockey and trying to help this team win games.”

For now, Marner is leaving the negotiations to his agent and Treliving.