Maple Leafs Get Bad News After Brad Marchand Signing originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Toronto Maple Leafs lost a major piece of their team as Mitch Marner left in a trade, but the Eastern Conference contender could have lessened the blow by landing another star player.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that if the 37-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Utah Mammoth will be among the teams with “strong interest.” The others? The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins. The Maple Leafs — Boston’s longtime rival — will likely lose Mitch Marner in free agency, leaving a hole on offense.

The Panthers inked defenseman Aaron Ekblad to a big contract extension on Monday. And with the deal, Florida now has less than $5 million in salary cap room remaining. Some projections have Marchand being worth up to $8 million per year.