The NHL has two focal points this week, with most eyes looking towards the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, but others transfixed on the Harborcenter in Buffalo, NY, as the league holds the annual scouting combine ahead of the decentralized NHL Draft in Los Angeles, CA later this month.
The Toronto Maple Leafs do not have a first rounder (get used to hearing that the next few years), and between now and July 1, GM Brad Treliving and his management staff will be plotting out strategy of what they will do in free agency, including re-signing their own pending UFA’s, as well as pursuing free agents on other clubs.
The chatter regarding Mitch Marner is so chaotic that it defies logic. One report says that he is open to returning to Toronto, while others say he has a list of seven or eight clubs that are preparing offers. If agent Darren Ferris is doing his job, he is likely dropping hints out there to cover both eventualities, but it has to be said that the return of the All-Star winger is a long shot. Where Treliving is likely focusing his attention is on center John Tavares.
The 34-year-old scored 38 goals last season and has made it clear to everyone within shouting distance that he wants to stay with the Leafs, but the question is, how far is he willing to go? On Monday, we saw how far a player wanting to stay in a certain spot was willing to go, as the Tampa Bay Lightning announced a six-year, $14 million deal with center Yanni Gourde. The Lightning brought the 33-year-old two-time Cup winner back to the Sunshine State in a deal with Seattle that cost them two conditional first-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
Gourde’s Deal Similar In Structure To Tanev
While Gourde is not in the same league as an offensive performer as Tavares, the type of deal is similar to the one that the Leafs signed defenseman Chris Tanev to last summer, and may hope to get their former captain to agree to. Both deals had the first three years frontloaded, which likely means that both the player and the club do not expect them to be playing in the second half of the contract. Treliving may be looking to get Tavares to take a deal longer than he expects to play to spread out the AAV to a manageable amount that allows the Leafs to sign or acquire other players or to take deferred money as defenseman Jake McCabe did.
What the Leafs may be expecting from Tavares is what Tampa Bay expected of Steven Stamkos last year. The Lightning reportedly offered a six-year deal for slightly more than Gourde got, which he considered an insult to the point that he left Tampa Bay for Nashville. The difference in the two situations is that eight years ago, Stamkos took the hometown discount to stay with the Lightning when he was being offered more from teams like Detroit, Toronto, and Buffalo, and Tampa GM Julien Brisebois expected to do it again. Toronto, on the other hand, paid Tavares $11 million as a free agent, so expecting him to take less on what is likely his last contract is understandable.
Treliving cannot expect Tavares to take less than say, Max Domi’s current contract, so a Tavares deal can be expected anywhere from $4 to $5.5 million per season.
