PARADISE, N.L.—Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs had been miles apart, two camps trying to get the other to budge.

There was little budging over the summer.

Many deals were discussed — long-term, short-term, big salary numbers, bigger salary numbers — but two things never changed: Marner wanted to be a Maple Leaf, and he didn’t want to miss any games.

So on Thursday, when camp opened for medicals in Toronto, Marner budged.

“I just expressed to Kyle that I don’t want to miss any games and want to make sure I’m with the team as soon as possible,” said Marner. “From that moment on, the next day or so, everyone on both sides just bore down and realized that both parties want the same thing and we came to an agreement.

“We’re here, we only missed a day or so, and it will be good to get on the ice (Sunday). I’m excited.”

When Marner budged, the Leafs budged.

“We had a sit-down on Thursday for quite a while,” said general manager Kyle Dubas. “It was great for Mitch to tell me how he felt, and me to explain where we were at and what we were proposing and so on. About how he fit into the team, how the team was going to move forward and everything of that nature. It was a real positive in the process.”

And finally, there was a deal. No regular season games lost. No animosity. No hard feelings.

Marner was smiling and making the odd joke as he spoke to the media Saturday after signing that six-year extension. He looked relieved, too. But more important, he was simply eager to get going.

“I’m excited to be part of this team,” said Marner. “Obviously seeing this roster and what they did in the summertime, it looks like a great team. Hopefully I can contribute to that and help out.”

The 22-year-old forward signed a monster deal — $65.358 million over six years (all dollars U.S.) — to become the seventh-highest-paid player in the NHL on an average annual basis ($10.893 million), and third on the Leafs behind Auston Matthews ($11.634 million) and John Tavares ($11 million).

For Dubas, it’s an exclamation mark on a young career that saw him make a bold promise: “We can and we will.” He said that in the heat of a contract impasse last season with William Nylander, promising that he would get all of his core players signed. He has, although he now pays four forwards about $40 million a year, almost half of the NHL’s salary cap.

“I understand that people will look at it and say, ‘No team has done it this way before,’” said Dubas. “That said, we have these guys committed to us for an extended period.

“And now we’ve come to a stretch here where we can come to the rink every day and play, and we won’t have any of this (contract talk) hovering above. And people can make their own discussions or try to create other controversies. I don’t think we have any at this point. We can enjoy just being together and have fun together as a program and continue to grow together without having to worry about anyone going anywhere.”

With their exciting, game-changing forwards under contract plus additions over the summer, such as Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot from Colorado, the Leafs promise to be a juggernaut that Marner didn’t want to miss out on.

“They were excited just as much as I was,” Marner said of his teammates. “A lot of them reached out when rumours got out there (Friday) and everything. That’s when I kind of broke the news to them that I’ll see them tomorrow. It was excitement on both levels. We wanted to be here, not miss many days and get on the ice.”

His coach was elated.

“He’s a real good player,” said Mike Babcock. “He doesn’t have to worry about this now. He doesn’t have to negotiate another contract for a long period of time. I think you think sometimes it’s going be fun. It’s not fun.

“The other thing about it, you’re talking about a financial package that most people can’t fathom in their lifetime. Then for fans, it’s hard for them to understand. I’m just glad it’s all done. But he’s a heck of a player. He just has to keep getting stronger and more time in the league, and he’ll just get better and better and better.”

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Teammates were just as happy, and eager to focus on hockey rather than contracts.

“We’re all happy for him, happy to have him back and get this thing going,” said Matthews. “We have a goal in mind. We have everybody on board now.

“It’s amazing. We’re a couple of years into our careers and the people and the teammates we have around us are truly special. We want to be great. We want to accomplish that ultimate feat, which is to win the Stanley Cup. Like you guys have said, everybody is locked in. Let’s just go play hockey.”

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