NHL
John Tavares Narrows Short List to Islanders, Leafs, Sharks
Where John Tavares could end up has been one of the hottest topics of the past week. It’s hard to find a hockey hashtag right now that’s buzzing more than #TavaresWatch. TSN has even created a Tavares Calculator that shows how much of an average annual value would end up as take-home salary. The short list was six teams: Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders. It is now narrowed down to the Islanders, Leafs, and Sharks, according to Sportsnet’s Doug Maclean.
All three teams have one thing in common: they have a lot of money to spend on him.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have the least amount of cap space available to sign John Tavares, but even that’s sizeable. There’s a fair amount that $18 million can accomplish. Two of the current Sharks’ centers are still on their entry-level contracts. Tavares would be a veteran presence to help teach these younger players.
If the Sharks do sign him to a long-term contract, Tavares will be part of a major rebuild. Evander Kane is the only forward on the active roster that is signed beyond 2019-20. While the center depth might be young, youth isn’t the norm for the team. This might be the time to bring in more rookies and start preparing for a championship run in the future.
There’s another big if here. If Tavares comes to the Sharks, it’s unclear whether Joe Thornton will be offered an extension. At 38 years old, it’s difficult to tell what kind of performance to expect from Thornton in the coming season. He scored more goals in 32 fewer games than during 2016-17, but his points are showing a decrease over time. Tavares is only 27 and has above 65 points in the last five seasons. His production isn’t stopping anytime soon. However, it is possible that the Sharks offer Thornton a one-year extension and make a playoff push with both of them.
Toronto Maple Leafs
There is room for another center on the Leafs, since the team will likely not be re-signing Tyler Bozak or Tomas Plekanec. Bozak made a decent contribution with 11 goals and 43 points, but with a cap hit of $4.2 million, there’s a higher expectation. That logic holds for Plekanec’s $6 million contract, as well. Plekanec only tallied two assists in his 17 games since being traded to Toronto from the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto only stands to gain by adding Tavares to their top line.
The Leafs have an estimated $24.6 million to work with, which is more than enough for this season’s priorities. Aside from the potential Tavares deal, restricted free agent William Nylander will have to be signed. He has received his qualifying offer and it is now between the team and his agent to come up with the final number.
While the Leafs might have plenty of cap space for this season, signing John Tavares could pose a problem for next season. Both Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews will need to be signed to sizeable standard contracts. Would the Leafs be willing to risk not keeping all three pieces of their next generation? It’s possible that a deal could be short-term, high-payout for Tavares because of this. It’s an immediate chance at winning the Stanley Cup without preventing the Leafs from re-signing their future.
If this isn’t just a couple-seasosn contract, there’s something the Leafs can offer that could only be matched by the Islanders. They have a “C” on the table. With no current captain, there is a possibility this was offered as part of the negotiation. Some of the team’s older players are leaving, meaning 27-year-old Tavares would become one of the predominant leaders until Matthews is ready to step into the role.
New York Islanders
The Islanders have been preparing for this for a long time. The cap space is available and they can sign him to an eight-year term if they reach an agreement before Sunday. There’s no reason at this point to think that they wouldn’t want to keep him or that Tavares wouldn’t want to stay.
With $34 million in cap space, the Islanders are free to offer John Tavares almost anything he asks for if they want to keep him bad enough. Choosing not to qualify four of their restricted free agents gives the Islanders even more flexibility on top of the unrestricted free agents. Priority number one has always been signing Tavares and they can build the team around him after his tenure is in place.
It’s likely that the Islanders have already put some of the framework in place. They know who they would like to keep and for an ideal price, but they have to know just how much Tavares is going to require before they can present anyone with offers.
The Islanders have just as good of an argument as the Leafs or Sharks do for why they should be the one to land the contract. Skill? The Islanders have that. Young talent? The Islanders have that. A chance at the Stanley Cup? Give it a couple years for the management and team rebuilds to settle in and the Islanders have that, too.
