Leafs President Brendan Shanahan avoided any questions that pertained to Mitch Marner's future with the team, which caused panic among the fans. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been through ups and downs so far into this season, as high as top 10 in the league standings <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-is-officially-back-we-now-know-the-line-he-will-play-on' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>with the recent return of their captain</a> Auston Matthews from injury. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/HockeyDaily365/status/1864499446366585102'> </a></blockquote></div> Though the team seems primed again for another playoff run, fans are still exasperated over the decades-long Stanley Cup drought. And they didn't get any more reassurance after a rather cryptic answer from Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan on the future of Mitch Marner with the franchise. On a recent edition of 'Domino's That's Hockey' on TSN, host Gino Reda pushed Brendan Shanahan on whether the organization was working on an extension for Mitch Marner or if they were waiting to see how the season played out. He offered no clarity, deflecting, saying he couldn't share Toronto's plans <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/maple-leafs-shanahan-impressed-with-how-marner-has-handled-contract-year/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>before moving on to talk about</a> Mitch Marner's season. I've learned you don't comment on any of that type of stuff other than to just say he's playing great hockey. He's been a great player for us for a long time. Any time you've got a guy that is that creative offensively, and also not just one of your team's best defensive players, but one of the league's best defensive players; not surprised how he's playing and we're just happy with the way he's playing and I'll leave it at that. - Brendan Shanahan <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TSNHockey/status/1866262797119795367'> </a></blockquote></div> Although this is possibly a strategy for Shanahan, some non-reassuring words have kept the fans on their toes. Meanwhile, <a href='https://www.nhl.com/mapleleafs/player/mitch-marner-8478483' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Mitch Marner</a> is skating at a career-best clip, averaging nearly a point every 15 minutes of ice time. That's sensational production, enough to make for a very strong argument for a lucrative contract extension. Hopefully, that speaks only to a Shanahan preference for discretion over any indication of a desire to move on from one of their bright, shining stars.