John Tavares’ contract is one of most bought out deals on Cap Friendly’s calculator

Toronto fans are still in “the Leafs just lost in the first round” mode. It certainly shows when you see what’s happening on the Cap Friendly website.

John Tavares is currently the 5th-most bought out contract on Cap Friendly’s buyout calculator.

Only four players (as of now) in the NHL next season will have a higher AAV than Tavares — teammate Auston Matthews, Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid, New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, and San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson.
The sad thing is that there has not been an evolution in his play since he signed a seven-year contract with the Maple Leafs as a free agent in the summer of 2018.

However, a buyout seems like an extravagant solution, don’t you think?

There’s also been chatter about a potential trade if even GM Kyle Dubas looks to dismantle his core players of Matthew, Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Riley. While trading one of them shouldn’t be ruled out this offseason, some are untouchables, some are harder to move.

There is no way you trade Matthews, and Tavares and Rielly both have no-movement clauses.

Marner, who could also be tagged untouchable, has a $6.96-million cap hit has become increasingly valuable. The Leafs might be open to listent to trade offer coming in for Marner or Nylander, though it seems easy to say that any move involving them would make Toronto worse.

Some expect major changes to come to the Maple Leafs’ roster this summer, but I’m not sure it includes a buyout or even a trade evolving captain Tavares. According to Dubas, there won’t be major changes to the Leafs roster this off-season.

That includes buying out Tavares.