Wednesday had to be bittersweet for John Tavares, but at the same time a day that he reasonably knew would come at some point. John Tavares has been alongside Auston Matthews for the entirety of his NHL journey and has seen the player and person he has become. He’s well aware that superstars want to be captains and as much as I’m sure Tavares wished his time as the Leafs captain involved in hoisting the Stanley Cup, there seems to be a shared belief that this is the right path forward. And the proof of that belief is that Tavares wants to remain a Leaf.
John Tavares says he believes contract negotiations are best kept behind closed doors but reiterates his desire to be a Maple Leaf beyond this season.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) August 14, 2024
The continued relationship between John Tavares and the Maple Leafs is likely mutual. While age will play a factor in what the Leafs will get out of John Tavares going forward, the reality is he is still a 30-goal(ish) player who can put up 60 points and addresses a need up the middle. That might change to Tavares being a 20-goal winger over time, but it is safe to say that version of Tavares can add value to the Leafs as well assuming the price is right.
Earlier this summer, I explored what a potential next contract for John Tavares might look like. The shorter term, unbiased projections from Evolving Hockey put Tavares in the $7M+ range over a shorter term, three year deal. This might be the higher cost associated with open market teams pursuing Tavares and is somewhat similar to what was seen with Steven Stamkos, the reality for Tavares when looking at his situation specifically instead of just relying on his numbers likely puts him at a much lower number.
The Leafs have already shown through the Chris Tanev deal that they will manage contracts with a couple of extra years to bring down the cap hit. The next step for Tavares will be identifying what where they reasonably think his performance will be in a few years and the deal needs to be centered around that. The dream of getting John Tavares at a Mark Giordano or Jason Spezza rate is unrealistic, but a fair and team-friendly number can be found. The $3M AAV contract that Steven Stamkos was offered in Tampa led to him moving on from the Lightning, and perhaps that is the baseline for Tavares. Ultimately what I concluded earlier this summer is that Tavares would likely come in under $5M on his next deal if he was to stay a Leaf.
What seems to have been made clear over the past couple of days is that John Tavares wants to be a Leaf and the organization is more than happy to have him. If John didn’t see Toronto as his final career destination the Auston Matthews captaincy would have likely been put on hiatus until next summer or taken the form of a press conference without John Tavares present. He addressed the fact that his goal for being in Toronto is to win a Stanley Cup here and that his intention when signing with the Leafs wasn’t that he be made the captain. As such his goal can still be pursued and with his family very much settled into the Toronto area, it would likely take one hell of an offer to uproot him.
Tavares stated, “No, it [contract extension] wasn’t a part of it [captaincy discussion]. I think mostly just was the way Tre and Brendan as well, communicating to me my role with the team. The impact that I’ve had and continue to impact and the importance of that, which meant a lot as a player. Certainly at the time, being the captain. It meant a lot and just focused on this situation specifically. It’s my desire to stay but I think it’s best that those things are kept behind closed doors and when time comes, it’ll be addressed.” The desire to keep things private and quiet certainly fits with the outgoing captain’s personality and if the contract extension talks haven’t started already, it seems clear they will take place soon. There could be an interest both from Tavares and the Maple Leafs to see what the next season brings for the soon to be 34-year-old before completely committing to numbers, Toronto hedging it’s bets, and Tavares hoping to demonstrate the level of hockey he still has left in him.
Sponsored by bet365
