John Tavares has been lights out for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. In 26 games this season, he has scored 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points. Even though all the doubters and the comments about him slowing down and him not being a top player on the Maple Leafs. He has stepped up when the team has needed it most and showed he still has something left in the tank.
Tavares is in an interesting spot; he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He could test the open market and see what he is worth. Or he can re-sign with his childhood team, the Maple Leafs, at a reduced price and hopefully win the Stanley Cup. Well, according to reports from Chris Johnston, he and Toronto have started contract talks regarding him staying with the club. The only question left is, what would the contract look like?
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It is always fun to predict contracts and trades to see how close or far off you were after it happens. So, let’s predict what Tavares’ new deal with the Maple Leafs could look like.
Tavares’ New Deal
$15 million/3 years
As mentioned previously, Johnston reported in the Athletic that the Maple Leafs and Tavares are working on a contract extension. However, there is a possibility that they set up the contract similar to what they did with Jake McCabe. Which was deferring some of his money until after the contract ended. He also mentioned that Tavares could be seeking a contract in between Claude Giroux ($5 million) and Anže Kopitar ($7 million). Given that the Maple Leafs will want to keep all the cap space they possibly can to address other areas. It’ll likely put him in and around $5 million per season for three years.
A three-year, $15 million deal with an AAV of $5 million is a great deal for Tavares and the Maple Leafs. The additional year allows the AAV to be dropped down from $5.5 or even $6 million while still giving him a reasonable amount of money. Tavares has a personality similar to what Jason Spezza had. They would be willing to take less to stay in Toronto to play for their boyhood team. Now, the difference is Spezza was at the end of his career and Tavares isn’t. He has proven this season that he still has some gas left in the tank and could be a good middle-six forward.
From the Maple Leafs’ perspective, they likely would want Tavares to sign for around $3.5 to $4 million for three years. That could happen, especially if they do defer money until later in the contract. However, he will probably still ask for north of $4.5 million, upwards to $5 million.
Only time will tell, but it looks all the more likely that the Maple Leafs will be offering Tavares a contract extension. In hopes of bringing him back at a lesser AAV than he is being paid currently.
