John Tavares handed over the captaincy to Auston Matthews yesterday, but the Maple Leafs have reportedly already made a very important decision about his future.

When the announcement was made that the Leafs would be transferring the captaincy from John Tavares to Auston Matthews, questions arose as to the future of the Toronto native, who has served as captain of the team since 2019.

Tavares is entering the final year of the seven-year deal he signed in the summer of 2018 when he broke the hearts of New York Islanders fans, who still hate him to this day. On TSN 1050’s First Up on Thursday morning, Chris Johnston revealed that the Leafs may have already made a decision on his future. Extension talks are on the horizon, indicating that the plan is for Tavares to continue on with the Leafs beyond this season

“Those conversations are probably going to get started at some point.”

CJ went on to say that Tavares wants to remain a Leaf and that the changing of captaincy won’t affect his desire, it is about finding a number the Leafs are comfortable with. It will certainly be something to keep an eye on as we get closer to training camp, but given that Tavares will not be making anywhere near the $11M he currently is, it should not be too difficult for the two sides to reach deal, given the fact that there’s mutual interest.