It’s great and all that John Tavares’ representatives and the Leafs have reportedly been talking since the beginning of the season, but honestly, it would make absolutely zero sense to sign him to an extension right now.

In fact, it’s a unique scenario where I think Toronto holds a lot of leverage —weirdly enough. Even though the 34-year-old is slated to become an unrestricted free agent once again on July 1^st, by all accounts, he currently has no intentions of playing anywhere else. And quite honestly, the Leafs would be stupid not to use that against him.

Personally, I think keeping open dialogue is great. That’s because when it comes time to solidify a new contract, the two sides won’t be starting from scratch. Even by now, I’m sure both parties have a decent understanding of what a new deal could look like. In this situation, I don’t think term will be an issue, it will be more about finding a happy medium when it comes to the average annual value.

The playbook was so predictable: Tavares gets off to a hot start, public pressure ramps up to lock him up.

Not to beat a dead horse but if the Leafs don’t do something substantial in the springtime, it will unequivocally be time to make some wholesale changes to the roster. Because of how much they currently make and their contractual statuses, naturally, moving on from Tavares and/or Mitch Marner could signify just that. I’m not saying they should, but ultimately, I think it’s a debate worth having if this team can’t pull through in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again this season.

If you want my opinion, all this Tavares extension talk is just noise. Obviously, his camp would like to put this thing to bed and not worry about unrestricted free agency. The Leafs, on the other hand, should be very cognizant of where the two sides stand. This is all part of the negotiation process. Having said all that, the only way I could see a resolution happening quickly is if the deal makes too much sense to pass up. As demonstrated this season, Tavares is still a wicked player, and if he’s down to take a considerable pay cut to stay, it would be foolish to pass up on that value.