UFA Discussing Deal With Maple Leafs, Agent Darren Ferris Confirms

Last week, despite being a Vegas Golden Knight, Mitch Marner managed to become the talk of Toronto once again, and it was only made worse by comments from his agent Darren Ferris.

Ferris made a rare public appearance, joining John Shannon and Darren Millard on the 100% Hockey Podcast last week where he not only discussed Marner's departure from Leafs and his hope that Marner would go to free agency, but also his relationship with GM Brad Treliving.

In discussing his relationship with Treliving, Ferris revealed that the relationship is not strained, and he is in discussions with the Leafs about a potential deal for one of the free agents he represents.

According to PuckPedia, Ferris currently represents three players that are free agents -- Andreas Athanasiou, Matt Nieto and Matt Grzelcyk.

Given Ferris' comments reveal that he recently became the representative for one, and Grzelcyk is only noted under a pop-up and not directly on Ferris' agent page, many suspect the Leafs are looking at bringing in the 31-year-old defenseman.

Currently, the Leafs have seven defensemen on their roster with NHL veterans Matt Benning, Dakota Mermis and Philippe Myers on the Toronto Marlies roster along with Marshall Rifai, and William Villeneuve waiting for an opportunity.

So why would the Leafs look at bringing in another defenseman? Well, Grzelcyk had just one less point than Morgan Rielly last season and the Leafs would like to add another puck-mover to their blueline after struggling to move the puck quickly against the Florida Panthers in the post-season.

As training camp quickly approaches, what the Leafs and Treliving do with their bottom-six forwards and their blueline will be watched closely as fans prepare for what is finally and hopefully a lengthy playoff run.