It was just confirmed for Mitch Marner involving a substantial amount of money and these two teams

We didn't expect the Mitch Marner sweepstakes to sputter out recently, but the news is holding steady as NHL pundits reveal important information when it crosses their desk.

The latest we've seen reported is from TSN's Chris Johnston, who has his thumb on the pulse of the Mitch Marner situation, which continually evolves. But the pace is a bit chaotic and inconsistent.

According to recent reports, it looks as if the two teams who are in aggressive pursuit of Mitch Marner are the Carolina Hurricanes and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks could shoulder Marner's projected cap hit, which would be upwards of $13 million, but we haven't seen what he could really fetch on the open market, as July 1st isn't here yet.

The team has $30.9 million in cap space this year and could weaponize it to steal Marner from the Hurricanes, who were unable to declaw the Panthers again this year.

This report by Johnston is counter to what we've read recently about the Hawks organization stepping away from the pursuit.

However, that'd leave the Hurricanes in aggressive pursuit with a total of $28.4 million in cap space, and GM Eric Tulsky, who could work the phones in order to secure the top-six forward south of Canada's border.

The only question is, would the 102-point forward be willing to accept a contract with a team that he shot a trade down beforehand?

July should prove to be an interesting month in the NHL.