The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of decisions to make this summer.
It appears that Mitch Marner is on his way out, an uncomfortable breakup to what was otherwise a mostly successful relationship. While losing his elite scoring and two-way game, he is a costly player, and the Maple Leafs can now use that money elsewhere.
Toronto can redistribute those funds on building a deeper, heavier forward group that could compete with the likes of the Florida Panthers come next postseason.
One crucial unrestricted free agent is John Tavares, who, even at 34 years old, still plays a strong game and has a few more years left of 2C production.
NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun believes Tavares would accept a four-year, $20 million offer from the Maple Leafs.
With the salary cap on the rise, $5 million annually is not unreasonable for Tavares. He was close to a point-per-game skater this past season, recording 38 goals and 74 points over 75 games. He has notched 30+ assists every year of his 16-year NHL career except for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.
Toronto failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals once again, but it also pushed Florida to the brink and was within a game of taking down the champs. Retaining as much of this encouraging core as possible should be a top priority.
The Panthers have plenty of contracts to satisfy this offseason, and while they are well-equipped to make several more deep playoff runs, the Maple Leafs are right there.
Keeping Tavares, especially at a fair number, would help ease the seemingly inevitable loss of Marner, too.
