After the season, many are wondering if the Toronto Maple Leafs could deal captain John Tavares in lieu of Mitch Marner, given the attention being paid to a new coach and the possibility of splitting up the “Core Four” in a trade.
The days of sending a sizable contract to the Arizona Coyotes are long gone, but the Toronto Maple Leafs still have alternative ways to let go of their 29-goal center without having to pay his salary budget charge.
After signing a seven-year contract in the summer of 2018, Tavares has just completed his sixth season with the team. With a $11 million cap charge remaining, he has one year remaining on his contract. Tavares will only be paid $910,000 after July 1st due to a signing bonus of $7.04 million (per CapFriendly).
The Coyotes used to be all in to accept this kind of contract from a team that had a minimum salary and a big cap hit, but that is no longer the case with them moving to Utah and an owner who is eligible to spend money. Considering Tavares’ complete no-movement clause, it seems improbable that the 15-year veteran would seek to…
The management team should have a meeting with the captain’s group to discuss his future ambitions. I wouldn’t mind reupping him rather than dealing him if he was ready to accept a $2–$3M extension in exchange for giving up the captaincy. It would be time for all parties to agree on how to move forward if that was not a possibility.
