Going home: Star free-agent Tavares signs with Leafs
TORONTO — John Tavares spent a lot of Saturday walking the length of his pool — back and forth, back and forth — trying to make what felt like an impossible decision.
He could stay with the New York Islanders, the team that drafted him, the one where he had spent his entire professional career.
Or the star centre could join the Toronto Maple Leafs, the franchise he dreamed of playing for as a child.
In the end, the pull of home was too strong.
After one of the most-watched courtships in NHL history, Tavares signed a contract worth $77 million US over seven years with the Leafs an hour after free agency opened on Sunday, bringing an end to a saga that gripped hockey for the better part of a week.
Tavares, who was born in Mississauga, Ont., and grew up in Oakville, tweeted he would be joining the team with a photo of himself sleeping on Maple Leafs sheets from his youth with the caption: “Not everyday you can live a childhood dream.”
That dream had just become reality, but it wasn’t an easy choice.
“My heart was in two places — where I’m from and a place where I’ve been for a long time,” Tavares said at his introductory news conference a few hours later. “My gut was tearing apart, my heart was tearing apart trying to figure out what I wanted to do.”
Tavares said he remembers watching Leafs games with his father on the couch as a three year old, including Doug Gilmour’s overtime goal against St. Louis in the 1993 playoffs, and thought about one day pulling the jersey on for real when he used to play outdoor hockey with his friends.
“I just had this feeling this was the right fit for me,” Tavares said. “It was once-in-a-lifetime.”
Tavares, who leaves the Islanders after nine seasons, met with his now-former club, the Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars over a three-day stretch from last Monday to Wednesday as the six franchises on his preferred list made 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, it seemed certain New York was out of the running.
In truth, Tavares made his decision by Saturday afternoon.
“As time goes on you start to get a feeling where your heart is and what your gut’s telling you,” he said. “My instincts were telling me this is the right thing for me.”
The end result is Leafs rookie general manager Kyle Dubas getting by far the most prized free agent on the market.
Tavares coming to Toronto is the biggest free-agent splash in Leafs’ history.
Quite frankly, star players in their prime rarely change teams in this fashion.
“Everything happens very quickly,” Tavares said. “The emotions are very strong, very heavy. “It was quite the process.” The first pick in the 2009 draft, Tavares has the fifth-most goals (272) and ninth-most points (621) in 669 games since entering the league. He had 37 goals and 47 assists in 82 games for New York last season.
While the deal is an earthshaking coup for the Leafs, it also doesn’t come cheap and could present a cap squeeze in the near future with young stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander — a restricted free agent as of Sunday — all due big raises.
But Tavares said a number of his now-teammates reached out over the last week, including Matthews and Marner, to convince him to join them in Toronto.
The club now owns an impressive 1-2-3 punch down the middle with Matthews, Tavares and Nazem Kadri, and solid goaltending in the person of Frederik Andersen, but while the Leafs still probably need help on defence, they’re a lot closer to a Stanley Cup than they were Saturday.
“They’re driven to win,” Tavares said. “They’re hungry kids.”
And now his attention turns to trying to help Toronto win a Cup, something that fans haven’t experienced since 1967.