Tavares signs with Leafs
TORONTO After one of the mostwatched courtships in NHL history, the Toronto Maple Leafs got the news they were hoping for Sunday.
John Tavares is coming home.
The centre signed with the Leafs as free agency opened, bringing an end to a saga that gripped hockey for the better part of seven days, and ramped up even further during the final 48 hours.
The deal is worth US$77 million over seven years, with an average annual value of $11 million against the salary cap.
Tavares, from nearby Mississauga, Ont., tweeted that he was going to Toronto just after 1 p.m. ET and then added a photo of himself sleeping on Maple Leafs sheets as a child.
The club made the official announcement in a release moments later.
“It was hard to turn down this opportunity,” Tavares said in his welcoming press conference at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. “It’s obviously one of the premier organizations, not just in hockey but in sports.
“As a kid cheering for the Leafs growing up, you start to get those feelings again once I went through the interview process and what it was like as a kid watching the Leafs and following my favourite players. I thought the timing was too good and it was an opportunity I didn’t want to turn down. I’m very fortunate to be here and to call myself a Maple Leaf.”
Tavares, who leaves the New York Islanders after nine seasons, met with his now-former club, the Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars this week as the six franchises on his preferred list made their pitches for the 27-year-old’s services.
Tavares had until 12 a.m. ET on Sunday to ink a contract extension that included an eighth season with the Islanders. But after that deadline passed without an agreement, it seemed certain New York was out of the running with only seven-year terms available.
The end result was Leafs rookie general manager Kyle Dubas getting by far the most prized free agent on the market, two summers removed from the franchise missing out on Steven Stamkos when the Lightning centre and native of Markham, Ont., decided to stick with Tampa Bay.