Insider Reveals What he Believes is the Leafs' Walk-Away Number on a John Tavares Extension

On Tuesday, Pierre LeBrun reported on 'Insider Trading' that John Tavares and the Leafs are expected to resume discussions on an extension in the coming days and throughout the weeks ahead. The 34-year-old is in the final season of the 7-year, $77M deal he signed with the Leafs in July of 2018.

Tavares, like many Leafs eligible for an extension, has expressed his desire to stay in Toronto, just as the Leafs have expressed interest in having him stay. His extension certainly won't be anywhere near the $11M per season he is earning now and during the second intermission of the Leafs' victory over former coach Sheldon Keefe and the Devils, Darren Dreger and Cheryl Pounder revealed that the Leafs' walk-away number on any extension would likely be $5M per season.

After spending most of training camp in a bottom-six role, Tavares finds himself back in the top six, anchoring the Leafs' second line once again. Although he has 'slowed' over the course of his time in Toronto, the former first-overall selection from the 2009 draft can still produce offensively and has modified his game to become a very good two-way forward. Through six seasons with the Leafs, Tavares has been the definition of consistent, registering 184 goals and 419 points in 441 games.

As the Leafs continue to work on a new deal for Matthew Knies as well as an extension for defenseman Jake McCabe, it will be interesting to see just how fast an extension is done for the Leafs' former captain and what the final number ends up being.