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NHL analyst Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation believes the Toronto Maple Leafs should let John Tavares walk in free agency.
Tavares is entering the final year of his seven-year $77 million deal he signed with the Maple Leafs in 2018. It was a high-profile signing, but in his six years in Toronto, the Maple Leafs have just one playoff series win.
With Tavares entering the final year of his deal, Alberga believes Toronto shouldn’t re-sign the former captain, especially right now.
“Any way you slice it, next summer will be a huge one for the Maple Leafs. For the first time in years, barring something unforeseen, they project to have big time cap space to play with. Finally, they will get the opportunity to reimagine the roster. At this point, it wouldn’t be in their best interest to take away from that potential cap space, especially knowing that it hasn’t worked in SIX tries with the Core Four intact,” Alberga wrote.
“If the Tampa Bay Lightning can move on from Steven Stamkos, the Toronto Maple Leafs should have no problem being just at cut-throat. Simply put, if the Leafs don’t do something substantial next spring, they need to make seismic changes to the core of the roster. Lucky for them, both Tavares and Mitch Marner, who was in attendance for Matthews’ unveiling as captain, are slated to become unrestricted free agents next summer,” Alberga added.
As Alberga writes, the core unit of the Maple Leafs has not gotten it done together, so there is no reason to re-sign Tavares right now.
However, Alberga isn’t ruling out an extension in the summer, but he believes it is best if this is the final year of Tavares in Toronto.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s a business, and just like Stamkos, Tavares may have no choice but to move on. For now, I want to see him go out there, have a strong season, and lead this team to foreign territory,” Alberga concluded.
Tavares Wants to Be in Toronto
Tavares is from Toronto and throughout his time with the Maple Leafs he has spoken highly about his time playing for his childhood favorite team.
After Tavares gave up the captaincy to Auston Matthews on August 14, he spoke to the media and said his desire is to stay in Toronto.
“I want to stay,” Tavares told the media on August 14. “It’s my desire to stay, but I think it’s best that those things are kind of kept behind closed doors. When the time comes, it’ll be addressed.”
Last season, Tavares recorded 29 goals and 36 assists for 65 points in 80 games with the Maple Leafs.
Tavares Gives Up Maple Leafs Captaincy
Tavares was named the captain of the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2019-20 season, but before his seventh year with the team, he gave up the captaincy.
The 33-year-old felt like it was time for Matthews to be the captain in Toronto and was honored to pass the torch.
“I just wanted to let him know what I thought about him and that I thought the time was now for him to take charge and be the captain and be the leader of our club and how ready he was for it,” Tavares said on August 14. “He’s got my full support to continue what when I came here six years ago to do and wanting to bring the Stanley Cup back here to Toronto and finding a way to do that.”
The new-look Maple Leafs will open its 2024-25 season on the road on Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens.
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