Maple Leafs make John Tavares $16 million contract decision amid Mitch Marner rumors

Billy Heyen

Maple Leafs make John Tavares $16 million contract decision amid Mitch Marner rumors image

The Toronto Maple Leafs don't appear likely to keep Mitch Marner around.

But they got good news on Friday about one of their other star forwards.

John Tavares is re-signing with the Maple Leafs on a four-year contract, the team announced.

TSN's Darren Dreger provided the details: It's four years for $4.38 million per year ($17.52 million in total value).

It looks to be a massive bargain.

Some projection systems had Tavares worth $7.5 million per year.

He may have traded some of the annual average value in exchange for an extra year or two on the deal.

Tavares will turn 35 in September.

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The second-line center is coming off a 74-point season. He had 38 goals and 36 assists in 75 games.

In his career, Tavares has 494 goals and 620 assists for 1,114 points.

He's now in line to score his 500th goal while a member of the Maple Leafs.

And they know they've got veteran leadership in the center spot behind Auston Matthews for years to come.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle