John Tavares handed over the Toronto Maple Leafs captaincy to Auston Matthews on Wednesday, while entering the final year of his contract. Tavares has always reiterated his desire to remain with the franchise, but could a new deal be imminent now that he’s no longer the captain?
The Athletic’s James Mirtle appeared on The JD Bunkis Podcast after the Leafs held their press conference officially naming Matthews as their captain and outlined what a potential Tavares extension could look like.
“I suspect that as part of this captaincy change talk, they have said we’re open to an extension.”@mirtle and @JDBunkis explore the connection between today’s announcement and a potential extension for John Tavares.#LeafsForever
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— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) August 14, 2024
“Whether or not that happens or not, I think that has to be what the Leafs are pushing here,” he said. “I suspect that as part of this captaincy change talk, they have said ‘We’re open to an extension.’ In this case, I think it makes a ton of sense, but again it’s an individual choice for the player if he wants to do that. I just think that if he does do that, and gets that cap hit lower than anyone expects it’s going to be, a lot lower than five, I think people will look at his tenure a lot differently.”
The idea of getting Tavares locked up to a lower cap hit than his current $11 million salary is certainly appealing, especially as he ages out of his prime. It would depend on what his needs are, but Tavares has expressed numerous times his desire to want to stay in Toronto so the feeling is mutual on the two parties continuing the relationship.
Tavares spoke with the reporters following the captaincy switch and was asked if the talks of an extension were brought up. He reiterated his desire to remain a Leaf but said the idea of a new deal was not brought up during his exit interview.
“No, it wasn’t a part of it. I think mostly just was the way (Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving) Tre and Brendan (Shanahan) as well, communicating to me my role with the team,” he said. “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.”
Should they wish to get this done, the ideal time seems to be right before the start of the regular season as it would allow Treliving and company to focus their efforts on the likes of Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies, and Jake McCabe among others. That isn’t to say that the likelihood of a Tavares extension occurring decreases past that point (William Nylander got his new contract in the middle of the campaign), but it would make things trickier the more time passes.
A potential new contract between Tavares and the Leafs is not close at the time of writing, but the fact he has been willing to take on a lesser role for the betterment of the team suggests he would be open to taking a pay cut to remain in the Blue and White. After all, Treliving commended the former captain for being on board with the idea when it was first brought up and Tavares recognized the ceremonial moment through his kids wearing Matthews jerseys at the press conference.
It was been publicly documented that he has been a team-first guy and is willing to put the greater good ahead of his self-interests. Tavares could have easily made the process difficult by being steadfast in remaining the captain, but he recognized the opportunity was right to hand things over to Matthews and that speaks volumes to a guy who will do what it takes to win.
All of which is to say the idea of Tavares inking an extension with the Leafs at a massive pay cut makes sense for all parties involved. We may not be close to one happening right now but the reports of Toronto being open to it suggests that one could eventually get done.
