Sunday's FTB: Clocks ticking

The Leafs drafted some players! You can find them all on the front page, or if you like, use this link:

But all of that is getting lost in yet another Mitch Marner story. What we know now – and now at time of writing is Saturday night – is that there is the germ of an idea of a deal between the Leafs and Vegas to have the Leafs sign Marner and then trade him immediately to Vegas.

Details are sketchy and involve two guys named Nic – Hague and Roy as potential returns.

The parts that make sense are that the Leafs would take Roy, a depth centre, and happily use him for the two years remaining on his contract. And also that they aren't all that interested in late-round picks.

The parts that make less sense are why they'd want Nic Hague, or is it Nick? You look it up. But he has a Qualifying Offer due on Monday of a big number. $2.7 million. And he's not been all that hot on the Golden Knights. The caveats on that are that he has been better in prior seasons, and depth defenders cost more than most people think they do.

It's unlikely that this is now sorted out and this bit is stale-dated, but you never know. However, if the point of this exercise is to sign Marner for eight years, and why are we here otherwise, then it has to be done before June 30 draws to a close.

We'll see where this goes.

In other news, there isn't much. But I like this line:

With so many draft picks taken 64th and lower, Treliving cautions fans to judge this year's Leaf prospects "with a calendar, not a stop watch."
— Lance Hornby 🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@sunhornby) June 28, 2025