I don’t think John Tavares will be coming to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The idea that Tavares will be a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs is nothing more than what the Steven Stamkos rumor was.
A rumor.
It isn’t happening, it’s just a rumor, so let it go.
The media – not including myself in this – portrays these big pending free agents as being unhappy with their current situation.
While that may be true in some instances, the media is by no means the leading authority on the topic.
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What about the players themselves, how do they feel?
Well, for the Stamkos thing, not a lot came from his own mouth until he resigned with the Tampa Bay Lightning and we all know how that ended.
For Tavares, we can first venture back to about a year ago when he said the following in an article published by the NHL.
"I think I’ve always showed my commitment, my appretiation and my desire to play on Long Island. I would love for that to continue for the long haul.I think you look at some of the greatest players in the game have been able to spend their entire careers somewhere. I hope I’m in that same position."
There you have, he’s publically stated that he wants to remain with the New York Islanders.
Andrew, that was a year ago, though.
Get us a new quote.
Done.
New Quote
I’m making this as easy as possible, hence the subheading above.
Here’s a short interview with TSN that he did from August 1, 2017.
"It’s obviously a great place to play, I’ve really enjoyed my time being an Islander and I want that to continue, so for me, I think mostly, I just want to try and focus on being ready for the up and coming season and being at my best and being able to contribute."
Okay, so even within the last few days, he’s publically noted that he wants to remain with the Islanders.
Realistically Speaking
Take a look at the contract he’s coming off of.
It’s for $5.5 million per season for six years with the last two having a modified no trade clause involved.
Okay, now take a look at his production statistics.
In just the last three seasons, Tavares has scored 99 goals and 123 assists for 222 points in 237 games played.
That’s a lot of production and I can guarantee that the Islanders will do whatever it takes to keep that with the team.
The Coin
Another perspective to look at is if we take his expiring contract and add in all of that production, it should make for a pretty decent raise.
And by pretty decent, you know exactly what I mean.
He’s going to get paid big money, something the Leafs currently don’t exactly have and definitely will not have anytime soon.
If you’ve boarded the Tavares train, don’t worry, this is your next stop to get off otherwise you’ll be riding it all the way to Long Island.
We don’t want a repeat of the Stamkos thing, do we?