Leafs Reportedly Taking Not Taking Straight-Up Approach to John Tavares Negotiations
Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Leafs and John Tavares are expected to agree on a new deal, with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman suggesting the team might take a new approach in negotiations.
As the Maple Leafs and GM Brad Treliving await clarity from Mitch Marner, they continue to work behind the scenes attempting to get an extension completed with Matthew Knies as well as put pen to paper on a new deal for John Tavares.
While the Leafs will happily pay a premium on a long-term deal for Knies, they are reportedly more comfortable in the $5M range for any new contract for Tavares, despite some estimates valuing Tavares North of $7M.
The Maple Leafs May Be Getting Creative With John Tavares' New Contract
On Thursday's '32 Thoughts' episode, Elliotte Friedman revealed that a happy-medium for Tavares and the Leafs may be a longer term deal with a lower cap hit, similar to the Chris Tanev deal.
"One of the things about Tavares, you can go the Brock Nelson way, which is three years at a bigger AAV. Or you can go the Chris Tanev, Yanni Gourde way [longer-term at a reduced AAV]. I can see Toronto pitching that."
Friedman noted that he does not expect the Leafs to go as low as Gourde's $2.3M AAV over seven seasons to end his career, but it would still help to lower Tavares' AAV significantly.
Leafs Nation may not agree with giving the 34-year-old a 5, 6, or 7-year extension, but with the free agent classes of 2026 and 2027 looking full of star-power, any additional cap space the Leafs can get will help them replace Marner and shore up the other holes in the forward group.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 5 | 5058 ANSWERS Leafs Reportedly Taking Not Taking Straight-Up Approach to John Tavares Negotiations Would you be okay with the Leafs giving John Tavares a longer deal to lower the cap hit? | ||
| Yes | 3481 | 68.8 % |
| No | 672 | 13.3 % |
| Depends how much it lowers the price | 905 | 17.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
