Maple Leafs Winger Mitch Marner May Help the Leafs Land a True #1 Defenseman

While on their late-season West Coast road-trip, Mitch Marner sat down with The Athletic for an exclusive interview where he shut down any questions prying about his future with the Leafs and appeared to leave the meeting irritated.

Since that interview, his future with the Maple Leafs has become less certain, according to some reporters.

The interview came on the heels of a trade deadline that saw news break that the Leafs asked the former 4th overall pick to waive his no-movement clause in an attempt to land Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes.

As Marner enters what could be his final games in a Leafs uniform, there has been lots of talk about potential landing spots for the 27-year-old, including the San Jose Sharks, where two of his close friends in Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau reside after their careers ended.

On Friday, Sharks GM Mike Grier held his year-end press conference and shocked many when he said he would be willing to listen to offers on the first-overall selection in the upcoming draft, should the Sharks win the Draft Lottery.

With the top pick widely believed to be 17-year-old defensemen Matthew Schaefer, the Sharks and Leafs could help each other out come draft day. The Leafs' defence has aged significantly with the additions of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson without any top defensive prospects in the system, aside from Ben Danford.

Given the uncertainty of Marner's future, the Leafs could propose a sign-and-trade that would see Marner, with an 8-year extension and supplementary pieces, heading to San Jose in exchange for the first overall selection, which they would then use to select Matthew Schaefer to secure a top-pairing defensemen for years to come, which is something the club has never really had, depending on your opinion of Morgan Rielly.

In noting his willingness to deal the first-overall selection, however, Greer was keen to make note he would be looking for a "Herschel Walker type of trade" which saw Walker traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a handful of players and 8, yes, 8 draft picks.

The Leafs may not have the draft capital to make that type of trade, but they would be giving up a franchise player and a premier playmaker that would help Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, among other forwards on the Sharks for almost the next decade as they enter their primes.