Rumor: Mitch Marner turns down Maple Leafs contract offer

As the final four begin to battle it out for the Stanley Cup, restricted free agents across the league begin to receive contract extension offers from their current clubs, and according to sources close to the Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner has turned down their initial extension offer within minutes of receiving it.

The contract extension is rumored to be for 8 years at $9 million AAV, which would make Marner one of the highest paid wingers in the league, however, it appears him and his agent are after a few more bucks. About $1.5 million per year to be exact, and after Marner had career highs in almost all his categories and almost reached 100 points, these contract negotiations could get messy.

The Maple Leafs know they need Marner signed at their ideal price to have room to sign RFA's Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. If Marner is demanding north of $10 million, you can expect one of Kapanen and Johnsson to be dealt for a young/cheap defenceman.

We will see how it all plays out, the Maple Leafs have a lot of work to do and Kyle Dubas is going to be a busy man these next two months. Don't rule out offer sheets either. With the amount of RFAs on the market, this could be the first year we have multiple offer sheets thrown around the league.