Speculation emerges on Leafs asking John Tavares to accept a trade
The captain on his way out of Toronto?
HockeyFeed
Earlier this month, Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares commented on his desire to stay with the team who grew up watching and looking forward to being a part of Toronto’s “Core 4” of William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Tavares himself, though it now count for $46.65 million against the salary cap.
However, it just happens to be coming up on a contract year next season; his seven year, $77 million deal that was given to him by former Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas comes to a close in the summer of 2025. This prompted Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun to suggest that the Maple Leafs should consider asking Tavares to waive his no-movement clause, either before the end of this season or during the summer. Simmons points to the captain’s drop in production and his age coming into play amidst a young roster.
“The contract hasn’t worked out well for Toronto, but that’s more circumstantial, and COVID- and salary cap-related than anything else. Tavares has mostly delivered at a point-a-game pace. He isn’t spectacular the way Auston Matthews or Nylander can be spectacular. He isn’t game-changing the way Marner can often be game-changing.”
That’s a tough assessment of the captain by Simmons, and I doubt that the Maple Leafs would dare to go up to Tavares and ask him to accept a trade. On top of that, I feel like there is very little chance any rival team out there would be able to $11-million cap hit, even with the cap rising by a projected $4.2 million for next season.
And most importantly, I don’t believe Tavares would accept to waive his no-mouvement clause. And IF he did, he would probably want to join a contender and I don’t see any of them wanting to add Tavares to their roster…
Tavares hasn’t recorded a point since January 6, when he last played against the San Jose Sharks and put up an assist. He has gone nine games without a point.
Still, I feel like Tavares is staying put in Toronto. What do you think?
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