John Tavares signs with the Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 takeaways

The Toronto Maple Leafs made the biggest splash in NHL Free Agency this summer by signing John Tavares.

When everybody expected John Tavares would either stay in Long Island/Brooklyn or sign with the experienced and playoff-tested San Jose Sharks, the call of home was just too strong for the Mississauga-born Tavares. He now has the chance to be a part of the team that will hopefully end that dreadful 51-year Stanley Cup.

Other than that, what does this move mean for the Leafs?

4. The lines

Let’s start with the most exciting aspect of the signing. Who will he play with? The Leafs can now really say that they have two first lines. The first line should stay the same with Auston Matthews between Zach Hyman and William Nylander. No need to split that up. The “second” line could have Tavares between Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner.

A third line of Nazem Kadri centering Andreas Johnsson and Connor Brown looks great as well. The fourth line still has some question as to who will win the No. 4 center spot, but the wing spots could be a platoon of players such as Kasperi Kapanen, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, and the newly-acquired Josh Jooris and Adam Cracknell.

Now, has Tavares ever played with a player with as much skill as Marner over his career with the Islanders? The answer is no. He was making players such as P.A. Parenteau and other middle-six level players better. Now, if he makes a player like Marner better, how good are Maple Leafs going to be? That one is really going to be one to watch.

Another byproduct of this will benefit Kadri greatly. With Tavares and Matthews more than likely getting the toughest match-ups, Kadri and his line could be free to create even more offense. The Leafs offense is definitely going to be their strength.

3. He’s making what?!

Tavares’ new contract carries a cap hit of $11 million. That seems a little low based on other offers that were out there. The Islanders had offered the same cap hit, but over eight seasons. You have to think that the Sharks would have offered him more. Yes, it’s still a lot of money but the Leafs will be helped by not paying a million or two more.

The craziest thing about all this is considering the two players the Leafs lost today. James van Riemsdyk returned to the Philadelphia Flyers with a cap hit of $7 million. Tyler Bozak signed with the St. Louis Blues, carrying a cap hit of $5 million. So, if you’re a Leafs fan, would you want both JVR and Bozak at a combined $12 million or a superstar like Tavares for a million less? Pretty sure the answer is obvious.

2. An uncomfortable subject

Unfortunately, the talk of a possible lockout has started. With both the NHL and NHLPA having options to end the Collective Bargaining Agreement in September of 2019, the future of the NHL is uncertain.

This has caused many players that signed long-term contracts in recent years to negotiate higher signing bonuses and lower salaries for what could be the affected season. Here is the breakdown of Tavares’ contract, courtesy of Pierre LeBrun.

That means over $70 million of the $77 million is a signing bonus. He is going to be making his money regardless. Hopefully, the two sides can come to an agreement before we lose any hockey in fall of 2019. If they don’t, Tavares is ready.

1. What this means for future free agents

According to CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs have $13,679,167 in cap space left. The only restricted free agents they have currently are Nylander, Johnsson, Frederik Gauthier and Justin Holl. Three of those players will more than likely be Marlies so they will come cheap. Johnsson won’t make much more than $1 million. The big question is Nylander. If the Leafs can sign him for $5-6 million, they will be in great shape and could still be able to add a defenseman on a one-year deal for this season.

What happens the year after that is more interesting. The Leafs will have to re-sign both Matthews and Marner if they don’t do it sometime mid-season. Moves will have to be made. This has led to many speculating Nylander will be on the outs.

You have to take this into account. Both Jake Gardiner and Ron Hainsey’s contracts will be up after 2018-19. Hainsey won’t be brought back. Gardiner will either have to accept less money to stay or leave. The Leafs have many Gardiner-like prospects in the wings and could be ready in a year. Timothy Liljegren comes to mind.

If anything, assistant GM Brandon Pridham is one of the best cap specialists in the NHL and he will work something out.

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