The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun negotiations with forward John Tavares, who is entering the final season of his seven-year, $77 million contract.
Tavares joined the Maple Leafs in 2018 when he was lured from the New York Islanders as an unrestricted free agent and he could find himself on the market for the second time in his career next July.
TSN tipster Pierre LeBrun reports that although talks are expected to intensify, the Maple Leafs are not rushing to sign a new deal.
“There’s something going on from a contract negotiations standpoint,” LeBrun said Tuesday on the show Insider Trading. “There was a back and forth between the Tavares camp, led by agent Pat Brisson, and Leafs management, just to get things moving. I don’t think anything is imminent, although I have heard that this dialogue is supposed to intensify in the near future.
“I don’t know if there’s a lot of urgency from the team’s point of view. There is a mutual desire between the team and John Tavares to do something at some point. John Tavares, of course, lives in Toronto and raised his family there. But I think from the Leafs perspective, yes, there is something they want to do. I don’t know if they are in a hurry to do it. »
Tavares enters this season without the “C” on his jersey after the Maple Leafs moved the captaincy to center Auston Matthews during the off-season. He has held this role since 2019.
The 34-year-old center had 29 goals and 65 points in 80 games last season, adding a goal and an assist in seven playoff games. He crossed the 30-goal plateau for the sixth time in his 15-year career in 2022-2023 with 36 goals.
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