Maple Leafs Being Linked to 3 New, Exciting Names Ahead of Free Agency

After the news got out that he was asked to waive his no-movement clause at the trade deadline, there has been a lot of conversation about the future of Mitch Marner in Toronto.

On top of Marner's status beyond this season, there is also the rising uncertainty about the future of John Tavares given his career resurgence and possibly pricing himself out of Toronto.

As the Leafs try to secure top spot in the Atlantic Division, members of the media have begun to look ahead to free agency and possible replacements for one or both of Tavares and Marner if the Leafs deem their asking prices are far too high to retain.

In their latest for The Athletic, Jonas SIegel and James Mirtle identified three likely options as a 'plan B' for the Leafs in Brad Marchand, Matt Duchene and Patrick Kane.

The most logical option for the Leafs would be Duchene, given that he can play down the middle and on the wing and has been very productive with the Dallas Stars with 29 goals and 75 points this season. The same age as Tavares, Duchene is a far better skater than the former Leafs captain and can certainly help the Leafs in a number of ways.

Currently carrying a $3M cap hit, Duchene may look for a bit of an increase on his next deal, but will likely still settle for less than what Tavares is expecting to get.

Marchand has slowed considerably as the 37-year-old winds down his career, but can still produce offensively, while Auston Matthews' favourite player, Patrick Kane has seen a bit of a resurgence the past two seasons in Detroit after undergoing a double hip surgery.

Leafs fans shouldn't expect any clarity on the futures of Tavares or Marner until the end of April at the earliest, but regardless, the summer is shaping up to be a very busy one for Brad Treliving and Brandon Pridham.