John Tavares Accepts Team-Friendly Contract Extension With Maple Leafs

Shortly before 1:00 pm on Friday afternoon, John Tavares took to his foundation's social media page to announce that he had agreed to terms on an extension with the Maple Leafs.

While many expected Tavares and the Leafs to come to an agreement, no one expected the former first-overall selection to take the discount he ultimately agreed to take on Friday, proving that winning is far more important that money to him.

The Toronto native signed a 4-year extension worth $4.38M per season, which is significantly lower than what everyone predicted.

The 34-year-old Tavares is coming off of a resurgent season that saw him tally 74 points (38 goals, 36 assists) in 75 games for the Leafs in the final year of his seven-year deal, which carried an $11M cap hit.

From the Leafs' perspective, there's not much of anything to dislike about this deal. The cap hit is well below the rumoured $5M+ ask, and the market for UFA centers is weak this summer.

From Tavares' perspective, extending for 4 more years in Toronto will give the former captain the opportunity to more than likely retire as a Leaf, which was the anticipated goal from the beginning of his initial homecoming.