The Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to re-sign forward John Tavares this off-season. He may be on the wrong side of 30, but he didn’t play like it, as he was one of the Leafs most productive players in 2024-25. Tavares registered 38 goals and 36 assists for 74 points in 75 games. Good enough for fourth on the team in scoring, while his seven points (five goals and two assists) in 13 playoff games were fifth on the Leafs. He finished second on the team in goals during the regular season and playoffs, with only William Nylander finishing ahead of him.
Tavares was the Leafs’ go-to faceoff guy this season with an impressive faceoff winning percentage (FO%) of 58.3%, which was one of the best in the NHL. He did all of this during a contract year to wrap up his seven-year with the Leafs that he signed back in 2018. Although his foot speed may be declining, he remains a point-per-game player, and his FO% has gotten better since joining the Leafs. Tavares finished his final season with the New York Islanders with a 52.9% efficiency. During the past four seasons, his efficiency has remained over 58%.
A couple of things happened this season that could have derailed Tavares, but instead of allowing adversity to bother him in a negative way, he proved his worth on the ice where it matters. The season started with him relinquishing the captaincy to Auston Matthews, which I'm sure was not an easy thing to do regardless of what Tavares told the press to save face in the media. Then, despite having a good season, he was left off the roster for Team Canada at the NHL's Four Nations Cup. A snub that could impact some players the wrong way, but not Tavares. He didn't allow either scenario to ruin his season.
Tavares would still benefit the Leafs by getting power-play minutes since that is still an area of the game where he continues to thrive. He tied with Nylander for the team lead in goals on the man advantage with 12, which is also tied for 17th in the NHL. He lost the net-front presence role to Matthew Knies, who has done a fantastic job in that role during the 2024-25 season, but Tavares did well in the bumper role and that would make the most sense for him going forward. He still has a decent shot with a solid release that can be deadly from the slot. He still has great awareness and the ability to deflect shots, and his playmaking abilities have not gone away.
Tavares re-signing with the Leafs for 3-4 years with a salary cap hit of around $5 million would make a lot of sense for him and the Leafs. On May 20th, Tavares said he had some positive conversations with Leafs GM Brad Treliving and Leafs head coach Craig Berube while stating that Toronto is a fantastic place to play and he would love the opportunity to win here.