NHL analyst picks 37-year-old Brad Marchand over Ex-Maple Leafs captain for $24,000,000 contract with Toronto

On the First Up podcast, analysts Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo discussed a key choice for the Toronto Maple Leafs. If both John Tavares and Brad Marchand cost $8 million per year for three years ($24 million), who should Toronto sign - Tavares or Marchand?

Aaron asked this question and said that he would acquire Tavares because he makes more sense, as the Leafs need centers.

"See, I would go for Tavares, for sure, just because he's a center and Leafs don't have any centers...," Aaron said. "And Tavares is not making 8 million. Well, you might on the open market, will in the open market, if he wants it. Yeah. And Marchand is a couple of years older than Tavares, too. But it's hard, it's hard to dispute."

Carlo replied that Marchand would bring a different style and could change how the team plays. He brought the "DNA change" into perspective, which Maple Leafs' general manager Brad Treliving said in May last week.

"Bringing a guy like Marchand changes the DNA of this team," Carlo said. "He's a guy that's a proven playoff performer, and he's a guy that brings you a different element of a style of game."

Marchand is 37 but still playing well in his 16th NHL season. Since joining the Panthers, he has scored important playoff goals. In Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, he scored the game-winning goal in double overtime. That was his seventh goal of the playoffs. He now has five career overtime playoff goals.

Marchand is also the second-oldest player to score in each of the first two games of a Cup Final. Despite his age, Marchand continues to perform at a high level.

John Tavares is 34 and has been solid for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since joining the Leafs in 2018, he has scored 493 points in 515 games with Toronto. This regular season, he scored 38 goals and tied his career second-best record after 10 years.

John Tavares wants to stay with the Maple Leafs

After another early exit, Toronto Maple Leafs management and fans are disappointed and demand a change. John Tavares has stated that he wants to stay in Toronto. However, the final decision falls into the hands of management.

"Obviously, my contract is done, but we’re coming up soon for decisions to be made and things like that," Tavares said, via NHL.com. "...Very optimistic that we can work something out where I’m back, but obviously haven’t put a lot of thought into it as obviously it’s only been a couple of days,"

The team wants to change its identity, as Leafs GM Brad Treliving said:

"If you keep getting to the same result, there's some DNA that needs to change. That's on me going forward. We've now started the planning..."

Marchand could help with that because he brings experience, effort, and a different attitude. Tavares is still steady, but may not provide the same edge. If both players cost the same, Marchand may offer more value in pressure situations.