Media Member Reporting a Deal Already in Place Between the Leafs and UFA Brad Marchand

With just a week to go until July's free agent frenzy opens up, the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't been entirely lucky so far after missing out on Mason Marchment and Jonathan Toews.

In addition, Sam Bennett may be nearing an extension with Florida, which takes another big name off the market.

There's still plenty of hope that Toronto can find themselves a few players to address a much needed problem with Mitch Marner essentially on his way out, but they may have to replace his production with a "by committee" approach, bringing in 2 or more players to fill the void.

The biggest name and attraction outside of Bennett, Tavares and Marner is undoubtedly Brad Marchand, and after the post-season that he just had, he put his name back on the map, and should be in line for a massive contract this summer.

The Leafs have been linked to Marchand quite a bit over the last month, but maybe there's something substantial there with media personality Paul Bissonnette making a huge proclamation on his most recent Spittin' Chiclets podcast.

Co-hosts Ryan Whitney and Keith Yandle laughed it off, claiming it was coming from Leafs fans online, to which Bissonnette laughed off the skepticism and jokingly quipped back that all parties involved know a deal is on the table, except for Marchand:

He finished off by adding that this would be the type of deal that would set the standard for the Leafs, especially if they lose both Marner and John Tavares this summer.

Marchand has been a thorn in the side of the Leafs throughout his career and that continued as a member of the Panthers after scoring 3 goals and 8 points during their 7-game series, including the Game 3 overtime winner for Florida.

If the Panthers can't extend him, look for the Maple Leafs to be aggressive come July 1st in pursuit of Marchand as they look to change the DNA of their team and address a position of weakness.