from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

When it became apparent that Mitch Marner might use the restricted free agent interview window to meet with rival teams, members of the Toronto Maple Leafs front office looked back and found just one documented case where that had happened in a decade.

Shea Weber explored that avenue on the way to signing a $110-million, 14-year offer sheet in July 2012, and no one else has done it — at least not in a public manner — since.

While it still remains to be seen if Marner will actually travel for meetings in other cities, it’s clear that he and his agent want to get the lay of the land through phone conversations. That’s fully within their CBA-negotiated rights and it should finally answer a question that’s been asked repeatedly in this city and beyond:

Will somebody actually step forward and give the 22-year-old winger an offer sheet?

continued