More details on the Chris Tanev deal in Toronto revealed

At the tail end of Saturday's day two of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving swung a deal with the Dallas Stars, sending the rights to prospect Max Ellis and a future 7th round draft pick to the Stars in exchange for Tanev's negotiating rights.

The move confirmed what we already knew, which was that the Leafs had a tremendous interest in the player and always planned to take a serious run at him.

Now that they have Tanev's rights, the Leafs have been grinding away with the veteran defenseman to get a deal done before tomorrow's opening of free agency.

On Saturday evening, TSN's Darren Dreger told viewers that the Leafs were preparing to offer Tanev 6-7 years on his deal in an attempt to keep the cap hit down, knowing full well that Tanev may not play the full term of the deal. Now, Elliotte Friedman has taken it a step further and revealed what he believes Tanev's deal will look like from a cap hit perspective.

6x$4M would equate out to $24M over the length of the contract. On a 5-year deal, the cap hit would shift to $4.8M per season to total $24M. On a 4-year deal, it would jump to $6M per season to get to that $24M mark. So, by offering more term, the Leafs are giving themselves a strong advantage when it comes to negotiations.

The other thing the Leafs can offer Tanev that other teams cannot is the opportunity to play at home. The Toronto native might relish in the opportunity to spend more time with his family and friends during the twilight years of his NHL career.

The hope is that a deal is announced at some point on Sunday, along with deals for several other free agents in Toronto, to free up Treliving's focus for Monday's free agent frenzy.

Source: Elliotte Friedman
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