The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading for another crucial offseason following their latest early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their Round 1 loss against the rival Boston Bruins was the seventh time in the last eight years that they’ve failed to advance to Round 2, calling into question how much longer management will continue forward with the “Core 4” of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.
The Leafs decided to extend Mathews and Nylander, while Tavares and Marner have one year remaining on their respective contracts. The latter pair of players count nearly $22 million against the salary cap, and their futures with the Leafs aren’t guaranteed. In fact, there has been rampant speculation that one or both of them could soon find themselves on the way out of town.
If it were to be Tavares that was dealt from Toronto, they could fetch an interesting package in return. Despite his being 33 years of age and his best years in the rearview mirror, he still provides leadership and intangibles that other franchises would find valuable.
Could John Tavares be heading west to Utah?
oronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) moves the puck against Arizona Coyotes defenseman Josh Brown (3) during the first period at Mullett Aren Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
As you know, the Arizona Coyotes finally called it quits on the failing experiment of professional hockey in the desert, and have officially moved to Salt Lake City. They’ve yet to pick their new logo and nickname and will be going by the uncreative “Utah Hockey Club” for their inaugural campaign of 2024-25.
And to help further endear themselves to the fans of the NHL’s newest market, a deal for a player with recognizable star power like Tavares would go a long way in generating additional interest. Tavares being traded to Utah from Toronto isn’t out of the realm of possibility, as evidenced by a recent report from Insider Jeff Marek on Sportsnet.
“One of the players that a lot of us maybe wonder about here is John Tavares, who’s going in the final year of his deal. I had a conversation with someone, who would have been a week-and-a-half ago who wondered about a team like Utah. Here’s why: Utah has a lot of young players, Logan Cooley is an obvious one,” Marek said on June 10 on The Jeff Marek Show.
“So, Utah is most likely in the business for veteran players on short-term deals. The theory is that they could offer John Tavares a pretty healthy number on a two-year contract as a way to entice him to waive his no-trade (clause).”
However, fellow Insider Elliotte Friedman didn’t sound as sure about the possibility of a Tavares move.
“I’m under the impression that Tavares is going to play in Toronto next year,” Friedman responded on The Jeff Marek show… “As we talk here right now, I’m under the impression he is going to play here (Toronto) next year. I don’t think he has any desire to leave, and we will see what else comes up out of it. But, the last time I checked in on him, which was about a week ago, I was told he was going to be here next year, so we will see.”
What is the perfect trade package Utah could offer Toronto for Tavares?
Utah has approximately $43,564,524 in cap space, and to facilitate a move, Tavares would have to indicate that he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause. So, what exactly would the ideal package look like?
To Utah: John Tavares
To Toronto: Nick Schmaltz
The salary of Schmaltz is half that of Tavares at $5.85 million and would help offset some of the offensive numbers that would be lost with the departure of Tavares. Last season, he tallied 22 goals and 39 assists on a poor Coyotes team and could benefit from a change of scenery.
Leafs fans, would a one-for-one deal of Tavares for Schmaltz be intriguing enough for GM Brad Treliving to consider?
