There is no question that all eyes are on Mitch Marner and what he decides to do on July 1st. Every NHL team would likely be interested in Marner, and that includes the Los Angeles Kings. In fact, there were reports earlier this month that the Kings were among seven or eight teams that he would consider if the offer was right.
However, that might not be entirely true, and conflicting reports will probably have Kings' fans confused. Recently, Cam Robinson with Elite Prospects was at the NHL Scouting Combine and had some reporting from what he was hearing in Buffalo.
One of those was that the connection between Marner and the Kings and he wrote:
"One source close to the ground floor on the situation had this to say on Los Angeles being the front-runner, “That Marner to LA report is pure rubbish.”"
Mitch Marner to Florida Panthers seems even more of a stretch than Marner to the Los Angeles Kings
Interestingly, Robinson says that Marner may not even get to free agency and could be in the discussion of a sign-and-trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. A deal like that seems like a stretch and doesn't make much sense from the Panthers persepctive.
They are in their third straight Stanley Cup Finals and currently up 2-1 over the Edmonton Oilers. If the Oilers were to win the series, it would be back-to-back titles, and they don't have any reason to compeltely overhaul their roster.
The focus more than likely would be on retaining key players who are set to be free agents, like Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand. Those two have shown they fit well within that roster, and the Panthers are one of the best teams in the league with them.
Marner will undoubtedly have his pick in terms of where he wants to play hockey next and the Kings, while maybe not front-runners, should be in the discussion. The rumors will continue to swirl and the rest of the league will wait until that decision is made.