It may be a bit early to start thinking about next year when the Toronto Maple Leafs still have another month of regular season games and a (hopefully) long playoff run ahead of them this season.
But Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has surely spent at least a little bit of time considering what his options may be next season when both Mitch Marner and John Tavares will enter the final season of their contracts.
Let’s start with what will likely be the simpler situation, that of team captain John Tavares. Tavares will be 34 when his $11M salary cap hit comes off the books (per CapFriendly.com). Some say he has lost a step this year, but the statistics don’t agree. Maybe he has, or maybe he’s just been unlucky (he has the lowest on-ice shooting percentage of his career, but his numbers are in line with past seasons and he leads the Leafs in expected-goals percentage).
There will be no need to extend Tavares before next season ends, as Treliving will want to see what he has left in the tank before even considering re-signing the veteran on a much cheaper shorter-term contract. Tavares wants to retire as a Maple Leaf and will likely be open to signing a team-friendly deal to stay in Toronto.
If there is no Stanley Cup parade down Yonge St. this year or next, it will be interesting to see whether Toronto Maple Leafs management will want Tavares back at any price. The time may be right at that point to cut ties with at least one of the original “Core Four”, name a new captain (which should happen regardless of whether or not Tavares returns) and start reshaping the team’s identity.
