Maple Leafs Insider Wants 'Cut-Throat' Move Against $77 Million Star

As Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares enters the final year of his seven-year, $77 million contract with the franchise, Leafs insider Nick Alberga is suggesting that the team might be better off not extending the former captain’s deal past July 2025.

Alberga argues that Toronto should prioritize freeing up cap space next summer to retool the roster rather than tying up funds in a new contract for Tavares, who is about to turn 34 years old and will be 35 by the start of the 2025-26 season.

“Any way you slice it, next summer will be a huge one for the Maple Leafs,” Alberga wrote in The Leafs Nation on August 15 . “For the first time in years, barring something unforeseen, they project to have big-time cap space to play with.

"Finally, they will get the opportunity to reimagine the roster. At this point, it wouldn’t be in their best interest to take away from that potential cap space, especially knowing that it hasn’t worked in SIX tries with the Core Four intact.”

Alberga pointed to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s decision to move on from their longtime captain Steven Stamkos in July 2024 as a model the Maple Leafs could follow, no matter Tavares' status as a star player in Toronto.

“If the Tampa Bay Lightning can move on from Steven Stamkos, the Toronto Maple Leafs should have no problem being just at cut-throat," Alberga wrote. "Simply put, if the Leafs don’t do something substantial next spring, they need to make seismic changes to the core of the roster."

Tavares, who signed with Toronto in 2018 in a highly publicized move that saw him join his hometown franchise, has led the team to only one playoff series win during his six-year tenure. Last season, he recorded 29 goals and 36 assists for 65 points in 80 games.

Most recently, and after stepping down as captain in favor of Auston Matthews, Tavares expressed his desire to stay in Toronto on August 14, stating, “I want to stay. It’s my desire to stay, but I think it’s best that those things are kind of kept behind closed doors. When the time comes, it’ll be addressed.”

Related: Former Maple Leafs Captain Sounds Off On John Tavares' Decision