In the past, the Leafs player welcomed sports journalists to promote his Marner Assist Foundation, but he has now adjusted his strategy as speculation about his future with the team has grown.

Toronto hosted the sixth Marner All-Star Invitational on Thursday and Friday. This event, which is a part of the charity ‘Marner Assist Foundation’ founded by Mitch Marner, aims to “generate sustainable change for children and youth by providing resources that will make a significant impact on their lives,” according to the website. Marner has made the event accessible to the media in all prior years (except from COVID), including a red carpet availability. One of the publications that was glad to assist in its promotion is The Hockey News. We inquired about the most recent Leafs narratives in return. It’s the standard reciprocal interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee.

However, Marner adopted a new strategy this year. The media was not allowed at the Thursday night tailgate party.

On Friday, the day of the on-ice events, local news outlets were allowed to interview participants, provided they kept the questions regarding the event confidential. Sportsnet and TSN, two of the biggest sports networks, were instructed not to go.

Why was it changed? It’s presumably because of the increased conjecture surrounding Marner, who has been qualified to sign a contract extension since July 1. When the current season comes to a conclusion, he might become an unrestricted free agent.

Marner’s reluctance to discuss the subject in detail is reasonable given the commotion surrounding it. However, Marner never used to manage things in this manner. After his third season in the NHL ended in 2019, the forward found himself without a contract for the upcoming season. At his charity function, Darren Ferris, his agent, was kindly invited to respond to inquiries on that.

On Monday, former Leafs forward Zach Hyman will host his yearly charity golf event. Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl will be among the attendees. Similar to Marner, Draisaitl is qualified to ask his NHL team for a contract extension, but there is no set guideline for what questions the media can or cannot ask.

Marner has every right to decide for himself what to do in this circumstance. It’s his occasion. The off-season is upon us. That’s alright. However, it’s a noticeable shift that appears to be following a pattern.

Throughout last season, Marner occasionally turned down invitations from reporters to talk with him, and at one point, we were informed that he was taking a “break” from the press. He has been aggressive and has brought up outside noise when questioned about injuries or other players’ struggles.

Marner declared he wanted to sign an extension because he likes playing in Toronto on the day of the locker clean out. However, it’s possible that Marner is just not a good fit for this market anymore.