John Tavares Officially Confirms his Free Agency Plans with the Maple Leafs

At the age of 34, John Tavares continues to play some phenomenal hockey as he currently has 49 points in 51 games this season.

Many were expecting a decline in his game, which simply has not happened yet, and of course, Maple Leafs fans are absolutely loving this.

While the Leafs front office probably loves this too, it also creates a catch-22 as it pertains to Tavares and his current contract negotiations.

Although this next deal may only be for three years, the AAV is being highly-debated, especially since Tavares is playing such amazing hockey.

When the season first started, it was predicted that his next deal would have an AAV of $5 million but now, his play his him at projections upwards of $7.5 million.

A deal with Tavares has yet to be finalized and some are now worried about this process extending into the summer. Although in a new piece by Sportsnet, the former captain spoke on his contract and noted that no matter when the deal gets finalized, he will still be a Leaf at the end of the day.

If you are a Leafs fan, this is exactly what you wanted to hear from John Tavares, especially as the Mitch Marner contract negotiations continue to drag on.

With the salary cap going up this summer, the Maple Leafs have a much better chance of retaining all of their guys.

However, the NHL is also very unpredictable and we can only imagine what kind of offers Marner and Tavares may elicit from desperate teams if they choose to explore free agency.