Rumours are circulating on the internet that the Toronto Maple Leafs are closing in on an extension with John Tavares worth $7M AAV, for the next three years.
If this rumour is true, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving needs to be fired immediately. This is not an indictment on Tavares, but instead, it is a slap in the face to the fans. Over the past nine years, we've been blessed with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, and for seven of those nine years, John Tavares.
Tavares has been nothing short of class, and it's not entirely his fault that the team hasn't been more successful in the playoffs. He scored the biggest goal in recent Leafs history, scoring the Game 6 winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning, sending Toronto to the second-round, for the first time 2004.
Signing Tavares was a great move, but it unfortunately backfired due to salary-cap constraints. I truly believe that when Kyle Dubas signed Tavares, he forecasted the salary cap to rise from 2020-2022, similarly to how it's rising from 2025-2027. Currently at $88.5M, the salary cap is scheduled to go all the way to $113.5M in 2027-28.
Leafs Should Not Make Decision on Tavares Yet
With Vegas and Seattle joining the NHL over the past decade, billions of dollars have been generated to the league, so that salary-cap should have gone up earlier, but the pandemic allowed the NHL to deny that, ultimately benefiting the owners. That's a conversation for another day, but I don't think Dubas expected to have half of his salary cap dedicated to four players when he signed Tavares and assumed that would be a one or two-year issue, not a seven-year problem, which is understandable.
Anyways, as much as I have appreciated Tavares joining the Leafs and that the salary cap is finally rising, I don't think the team needs to make the same mistake again, especially now. Why would they dedicate $7M of their salary to Tavares without seeing what the playoff results will be? If this year is different, maybe you can talk the fanbase into believing that they need to bring them all back again, but you can't make that decision until the playoffs happen, especially if it crashes and burns again.
I don't care if there isn't a better option out there than Tavares at centre right now. The Leafs have roughly $30M in cap space available next year, so use that money towards a young superstar versus someone whose best years could be behind him. The team has been linked to Mikko Rantanen, so why not push your chips into the table and sign him, instead of running it back with Tavares?
Re-signing Tavares doesn't necessarily mean the team will never be able to win a Stanley Cup, but after seven years, I've seen enough. The Leafs should not be deciding to re-sign him based on his great start in the regular season, but instead should wait until the playoffs and see if he's truly worth bringing back.
It's sometimes okay to walk away from a good thing, but unfortunately, the Leafs haven't understood this yet. I guess when you haven't had anything good for 25 years, you tend to hold onto it a little longer, but it's time to walk away from Tavares, or at least wait until the playoffs are over before making a rash decision.