NHL insider dismisses John Tavares' potential Maple Leafs extension matching Matt Duchene's $4.5M AAV deal 

There has been speculation that John Tavares could sign a contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs similar to the recent Matt Duchene extension with the Dallas Stars.

However, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun has dismissed the idea that Tavares would accept a deal matching Duchene's $4.5 million AAV.

Duchene signed a four-year extension with Dallas carrying a $4.5 million cap hit per season. The contract kicks in starting 2025-26 and runs through 2028-29.

Tavares is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

On TSN's "FanDuel Overdrive", Pierre LeBrun addressed the idea of John Tavares signing a deal similar to Matt Duchene’s:

“I’m sure Brad Treliving wishes that were true. I know for a fact that unless there is a lot of terms attached to it, there’s no way Tavares signs for 5 million a year."

(from 2:18:40 mark onwards)

As LeBrun noted, the only way Tavares would accept such a low cap hit is if the contract contained significant terms. Adding several years to the deal would reduce the annual cap hit while providing overall high dollar value. However, at Tavares' age, a long-term contract is less likely.

LeBrun continued:

"But on a normal contract, what I was told last week is that 5 was too low from the Tavares camp’s point of view."

John Tavares put up 38 goals and 74 points over 75 games. In the playoffs, he added five goals and seven points across 13 games.

NHL analyst James Mirtle on how Leafs could approach re-signing John Tavares

The Athletic's James Mirtle suggested that with Tavares turning 35 this fall, this is likely his final chance to land a big-money deal with a contending team.

If he continues playing beyond the next few years, it’ll probably be on low-cost, veteran contracts similar to what Corey Perry has been signing — nothing over $1.15 million annually in recent seasons.

Mirtle proposed via TheAtheltic.com:

"So I’d give Tavares the $22.5 million Nelson signed for, plus some bargain years at the end in the Perry range to bring the AAV down. Make it something like $27-ish million over six years, heavily front-loaded (i.e., around $6 million in the early years).”

This way, Tavares still secures a respectable final payday, while the Leafs benefit from a more manageable cap hit.