Another Potential Maple Leafs Target Drops Off the Board, But it Could Actually Help the Leafs

There's a summer of change on the way in Toronto, and Leafs GM Brad Treliving is sure to be feeling the pressure after the man who hired him, former Leafs President Brendan Shanahan, has been ousted from his post and released by MLSE CEO Keith Pelley.

Treliving was kept around by Pelley, but now, without that buffer between GM and CEO, Pelley will be keeping a much closer eye on Treliving, which means that every move he makes will be under a watchful eye with a lot more authority than Shanahan had.

One player who was expected to draw a lot of interest from the Leafs this summer was former Seattle Kraken forward Yanni Gourde, a top rental who was dealt back to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the deadline. Unfortunately, Gourde came off the board on Monday, signing a new 6-year deal in Tampa worth $2.33M per season.

The Leafs took a similar approach when they signed Chris Tanev to a 6-year deal last summer to keep the salary down. Gourde, 33, is a year younger than former Leafs captain John Tavares, and will turn 34 in December. He'll be 39 when his deal expires. Meanwhile, Tavares, who turns 35 in September, could look to sign a similar contract.

After watching Gourde sign a multi-year deal, ensuring he ends his career where he wants to be in Tampa, where he won two Stanley Cups, it stands to reason that Tavares could look to negotiate a similar deal, leaving some salary on the table to ensure that he ends his career in Toronto.

Unlike Gourde, who settled on a deal for $2.33M per season, Tavares is expected to earn considerably more.

While some reports during last season suggested that Tavares may be worth a cap figure similar to that of Anze Kopitar ($7Mx2 in LA), if the Leafs are willing to offer him a 5-year deal, perhaps Tavares would be willing to take a number far below that, say in the $4M-$4.5M range.