A record-breaking contract offer to Mitch Marner in free agency has just been addressed and it's confirmed

Mitch Marner's days with the Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly counted. Multiple analysts and experts believe he won't re-sign a contract with the Leafs on July 1st, and Brad Treliving's recent comments about the negotiations only added concern:

If Marner ends up available, many teams will make offers, with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks in great position to outbid other organizations.

However, in a new development, we learned that the Ducks could be ready to make significant strides to get Marner.

In a recent paper published in The Athletic, James Mirtle revealed that the Ducks could be among the highest bidders to get Marner, with a projected offer of $14M AAV, tying Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl at the top of the NHL pay scale.

If the Ducks were to offer $14M a year to Marner, a number that most teams won't be able to match, the forward would be under great pressure to lead the team to success, despite Anaheim being a much smaller market than Toronto.

Draisaitl has been having a much bigger impact for his team than Marner did. The German superstar reached the 100-point mark six times in his career, while Marner only reached it once. Also, Marner never scored more than 35 goals in a season, while Draisaitl scored 50 goals or more in a season on four occasions.