RUMOUR: Steve Simmons says the Leafs won’t ask Marner to waive no-trade until they get a trade offer to their liking

It was featured in his most recent piece. I know we all have our gripes on his reporting style, but this bit of info is certainly noteworthy. The link to the full article is here but I will include the entire snippet of what he said for those too lazy:

There are no plans to ask Mitch Marner to waive the no-trade arrangement on his contract with the Maple Leafs.

But that doesn’t mean the Leafs don’t have serious interest in dealing Marner, possibly closer to the NHL draft or into the summer.

Here’s the plan, much as there is one: The Leafs have basically let it be known in the hockey world they are in trade mode. Just about anyone and everyone is for sale except for Auston Matthews and William Nylander.

The idea, according to those close to general manager Brad Treliving, is to build a Leafs team that can be more competitive come playoff time — better and tougher to play against — both stronger defensively and steadier in goal.

It’s a tall order for the GM, considering the Florida Panthers are playing for the Stanley Cup for the second straight year and Tampa was in the Cup final the three years prior to that. If the Leafs want to go deeper in the playoffs, the road goes through Florida, Tampa and Boston, teams they’ve struggled with in the past.

The NHL knows it’s open season on Marner offers. How often is a 95-point, penalty-killing winger available? The Leafs won’t put the cart before the horse here. They will listen. If one of the offers meets their needs, then — and only then — will they involve Marner in the process and try to convince him why it’s in his best interest to look elsewhere.

If no deal for Marner can be completed — or he doesn’t allow one — it makes next season a greater challenge than expected. The Leafs need help in goal and on defence and, with next-to-no money to spend, what’s Treliving to do?

One year from now, Marner’s contract and that of captain John Tavares will expire, opening up $22 million in payroll, with an increasing salary cap and only $40 million committed. That’s when Leafs management — and not players — will be in control of the payroll and, by extension, the team.

But not until then.