Toronto Maple Leafs star forward John Tavares is in the final year of his deal and will be one of the top free agents available.
Tavares signed a massive seven-year $77 million deal with his hometown Maple Leafs. He has been an impactful player, but at age 34, he will likely have to sign for less in free agency.
The forward can be a second or third-line center, so NHL analyst Steve Dangle predicts Tavares will re-sign with the Maple Leafs on a five-year $32.5 million deal.
“Toronto. 6.5 (million) times five,” Dangle said on SDPN which comes out to $32.5 million total… “If he signs for less than that it’s out of the kindest of his heart because he has been great.”
However, Dangle’s co-host Adam Wylde thinks Tavares will sign a deal for less money than what Dangle predicted.
“John Tavares is going to stay in Toronto, it’s going to be four or five years, it’s going to be $5-5.5 million,” Wylde added.
Tavares has been an impactful player for the Maple Leafs this season. The star forward has skated in 38 games recording 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points. Although he’s 34, he’s still an impactful player for the Maple Leafs and will have plenty of suitors in free agency.
But, Dangle is confident Tavares will remain with his hometown team past the 2024-25 NHL season.
Tavares Wants to Remain With Maple Leafs
Tavares has made it clear he wants to remain in Toronto for the foreseeable future.
The forward has played an impactful player for the Maple Leafs this season and he says he wants to remain in Toronto for the rest of his career.
“I’ve said it before, I would love to stay and hope it works out,” Tavares said to NHL.com. “I think that’s, that’s my goal and my intention.”
Although playing for his hometown team has been special, Tavares says the goal is to bring a Stanley Cup to the city.
“Winning the Cup here remains the goal,” Tavares said. “That’s never changed. It would be a dream fulfilled for a lot of us… Aside from not being able to help bring a Stanley Cup here, it’s been everything I could hope for. In fact, it’s been even better than I thought, to be honest.”
Tavares was selected first overall in the 2009 NHL draft by the New York Islanders. He spent the first nine years of his career with New York before signing with Toronto in the summer of 2018.
Matthews Returns to Lineup
Toronto is also getting a big boost to the lineup on January 4 as captain and star forward Auston Matthews will return to the lineup.
“It’s exciting,” Matthews said. “It’s never fun watching, so I feel excited about being back in. Just been trying to work back into things and just trying to feel good. That’s about it.”
Matthews has missed the past six games after re-aggravating an injury on December 20. However, the Maple Leafs captain still isn’t sure if the injury is past him.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Matthews said. “I hope so, that’s obviously the goal. It’s tricky with these things. It’s a physical sport, it’s a contact sport, so things happen out there sometimes that are out of your control, so just trying to manage it as best I can.”
Toronto will play the Boston Bruins on January 4.
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Maple Leafs’ John Tavares Predicted to Sign $32.5 Million Deal in Free Agency