Insider Reporting on Some Movement Between John Tavares and the Maple Leafs
There was mutual interest between John Tavares and the Maple Leafs to work on an extension and now one Insider is reporting that the two sides are gaining traction.
When John Tavares passed the captaincy to Auston Matthews, he made it clear that he wanted to stay in Toronto and finish his career as a Maple Leaf. At 34-years-old, any extension with the Leafs would not be long-term, but many expect it to be a multi-year deal with a significant pay cut. It won't be anything like a Mark Giordano, $800K per season type of contract, but it will be significantly less than his current $11M per season.
With training camp officially complete and the Leafs beginning their regular season on Wednesday, TSN's Pierre LeBrun revealed on 'Insider Trading' Tuesday evening that there has been some movement between Tavares' camp and the Leafs on an extension.
There is a mutual desire between the team and John Tavares to get something done at some point. From the Leafs' perspective, it is something they want to get done, but I don't know if they're in a rush to do it."
Given the mutual interest in a return, either the Leafs would like to get some of their other pending UFA's locked up before Tavares so they have a better idea of their cap situation next summer (Mitch Marner extension anyone?) or the two sides would like to have this done quietly, but not during the first few weeks of the season.
Tavares has entered the final year of the 7-year deal he signed in July of 2018, shocking the New York Islanders and the hockey world. In six seasons and 440 regular season games with the Leafs thus far, Tavares has registered 184 goals and 419 points, while also slaying the Leafs' first-round demons, scoring the series clinching goal in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning just two seasons ago.
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