Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube makes his feelings known about John Tavares' $17.52M extension with Toronto

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube spoke about John Tavares on Thursday. The team re-signed Tavares to a four-year deal worth $17.52 million in late June. The contract has an average annual value of $4.38 million.

Speaking to the media, Berube expressed his happiness with the extension and called Tavares a great team player and leader.

"Very happy," Berube said, via mapleleafshotstove.com. "Johnny is as good a pro as you can find in the game, in my opinion, with the way he prepares. He is a great team guy, teammate, and leader."

John Tavares played mostly as the second-line center last season. He was also on the team’s top power-play unit. He played in 75 games last season and scored 38 goals and registered 36 assists for 74 points. He has been a steady scorer since joining Toronto in 2018.

Berube added that he saw no signs of Tavares slowing down last year.

"I didn’t see any signs of him slowing down last year," Berube said about the 34 year old forward. "I thought he had a tremendous year. For me, I look at Johnny, and everything he does is what is best for the team. That is very important."

In seven seasons with the Maple Leafs, Tavares has 493 points in 515 games. That includes 222 goals and 271 assists. In 51 playoff games with Toronto, he has 31 points. Before joining the Leafs, he played nine seasons with the New York Islanders.

GM Brad Treliving's comments on forward John Tavares

After signing John Tavares, General Manager Brad Treliving had also praised his commitment to Toronto. He talked about the possibility of Tavares earning more money elsewhere.

"I want to give a lot of credit first and foremost to John," Treliving said, via NHL.com. "We talked at the end of the year about John's want and desire to be here and to win here. ... We would all agree there would be an opportunity for John to make a lot more money elsewhere, and his focus was staying here. ... his desire steered the process on this negotiation."

This deal gives Toronto options and cap flexibility to add forward depth before the trade deadline, especially after trading Mitch Marner to Vegas.

Last season, the Leafs lost to the Florida Panthers in the second round. It was another early playoff exit for the Leafs, but John Tavares scored 7 points in 13 games. His best performance came in Game 3 against Florida, in which he scored 2 goals. The Leafs believe his leadership and play remain valuable going forward.