Former Maple Leaf turned analyst reveals the expected term of John Tavares' new deal in Toronto

After handing over the captaincy to Auston Matthews last week, John Tavares made it clear that he wanted to continue to be a Maple Leaf beyond next season when his current contract expires. Based on the reports from TSN's Chris Johnston, the feeling is mutual, with Johnston reporting that talks of an extension should take place in the near future.

Yesterday, on the NHL Network, Johnston's colleague and former Maple Leafs forward Mike Johnson discussed the change in captaincy and revealed the expected length of the extension, if/when Tavares does sign.

At a cap hit of $11M this season, the 33-year-old still posted a respectable 29 goals and 65 points last season and should be able to outpace those totals. However, given his age and the fact that father time is slowly catching up to the former first-overall pick, the Leafs will likely save around half of his current cap hit on his next contract.

With the cap projected to go up another $4M+ next summer, the Leafs will have plenty of room to make the drastic changes fans have been asking for during the past couple of off-seasons.

Source: Hockey-Reference
John Tavares Stats