John Tavares' new contract projection very concerning for the Maple Leafs
John Tavares is eligible to sign a contract extension at any point in time, but the latest projection may very well be a "walk-away" number for the Maple Leafs.
When Tavares signed his 7-year, $77M contract back in the summer of 2018, there was only celebration in the streets of Toronto. Now, coming into the final year of his deal, the focus shifts on what comes next after a disappointing 6-year run in Toronto.
The days of John Tavares being paid $11M are nearly over and when his current deal expires, Tavares will sign at a substantially lower number. The questions, though, are "how much lower?" and "will he remain in Toronto?". The answer to both questions is complex and they are inexplicably linked.
In order for Tavares to remain in Toronto, he'll have to take substantially less money. That is a fact. We just saw Steven Stamkos sign a 4-year deal at $8M per season, but Stamkos had the luxury of coming off of a 40-goal season, which worked to his benefit. I highly doubt Tavares will have the same luck in 2024-25, so whatever number JT comes in at, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be lower than $8M.
The Leafs Nation's Jon Steitzer wrote this week about Tavares' next contract projection, suggesting that his new deal could fall somewhere in the range of Anze Kopitar's 2-year deal worth $7M per season and Claude Giroux's 3-year deal, which carried a $6.5M cap hit. These are very reasonable comparables.
Steitzer also went on to mention that Tavares would not likely be anywhere close to that if he wants to have any hope of remaining a Maple Leaf. He mentioned that the Leafs could likely track down a suitable replacement for Tavares in the $5.5M range, concluding that a Tavares extension would need to be even lower than that to entice the Leafs to extend their partnership with JT. Steitzer believes that a number below $4.8M is likely the sweet spot for the Leafs.
Whatever Tavares ends up signing for, we're certainly going to see just how badly he wanted to remain a Maple Leaf. If he does stay and the number is as low as Steitzer suggested, there aren't many potential downsides for the Leafs. However, if the number is higher than Kopitar's $7M and Tavares signs a deal somewhere else, we'll know what the Leafs' captain was thinking all along, which is one final big payday before the end of his career. There's also nothing wrong with that.
Source: Jon Steitzer, The Leafs Nation
What should John Tavares' next contract look like if he signs with the Maple Leafs?
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 14 | 560 ANSWERS John Tavares' new contract projection very concerning for the Maple Leafs What is your walk-away number for John Tavares? | ||
| $7M or more per season | 67 | 12 % |
| $5.6M-$6.9M | 119 | 21.3 % |
| $5M-$5.5M | 253 | 45.2 % |
| I don't even want him under $5M | 121 | 21.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
