Report: Leafs, Marner fine entering season without extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Mitch Marner are content to begin the season without a contract extension, TSN's Darren Dreger reported Monday on "First Up."

Marner, 27, tallied 26 goals and 85 points in 69 games last season but managed only one goal and three points in Toronto's first-round loss against the Boston Bruins. He's set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and Marner's agent, Darren Ferris, aren't in heavy negotiations at this time, Dreger reports.

Toronto signed star forward Auston Matthews to an extension in August last year before the new campaign started. His four-year, $53-million contract featured a then-league-high cap hit of $13.25 million.

Both Marner's camp and the Maple Leafs have an appetite to get something done eventually, and the organization realizes Marner will get paid well, Dreger adds.

Marner is entering the final year of a six-year contract with a $10.9-million cap hit signed in September 2019 just after training camp had begun.

Former captain John Tavares is also a pending unrestricted free agent in addition to Marner.

Marner has accumulated 194 goals and 639 points in 576 career games with the Maple Leafs. He was drafted by Toronto fourth overall in 2015.