John Tavares may need to take substantially less than his asking price to remain a Maple Leaf

Photo credit: � Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

John Tavares is rumoured to be looking at some lofty contract comparables, but NHL Insider Darren Dreger has drawn a very hard line for the Maple Leafs on Tavares’ cap hit on his next deal.

Recently, it was revealed that former Leafs captain John Tavares is looking at the likes of Claude Giroux and Anze Kopitar as potential comparables for his next contract in Toronto.

Tavares is reportedly looking at an AAV somewhere between $6.5M-$7M per season, while the Leafs are reportedly more comfortable at a much lower AAV. However, TSN’s Darren Dreger has revealed on Friday that, in his mind, the Leafs will need to get the veteran forward to agree to something under the $5M mark in order to justify bringing him back.

NHL Insider Shares One Important Detail About John Tavares' Next Contract With the Leafs
“The bottom line is going to be, you know, what’s a fair number? What is that fair AAV? I don’t think it can be $5M. I think it has to be below that, and if you’re Tavares, maybe you are like a Stamkos and you’re looking at it and going, ‘well, hmmm… I just put up big numbers and I feel really, really good, and I think I’ve got at least two more years of that in me.’ Well, then it becomes more a negotiation of creativity.”
Even with the tenured Insider establishing that hard line at $5M on Tavares, Dreger affirmed that the Leafs absolutely do want to bring the former captain back, citing his importance to the community, the room and his consistent production as the key reasons why the organization loves him.
“There’s no doubt that the Leafs are going to want to keep John Tavares in the mix. Why wouldn’t you? Because he’s a good guy to have in the community, he’s great in the room and he produces on a game in and game out basis. But, I don’t think they can have him making $5M — it’s got to be less than that. How do you get there? That’s going to be the challenge.”
 

 

Tavares is off to a fantastic start at the quartermark of the season, having turned in a 9-goal, 20-point performance through his first 21 games of the season.

The pending UFA has been very vocal about his desire to remain in Toronto beyond this season, but now it’s time for the veteran pivot to put his money where his mouth is. It may require a substantial discount for the Leafs to be able to bring him back next season, but if he wants it bad enough, maybe that’s a concession that Tavares is willing to make to avoid having to uproot his young family.