John Tavares expresses desire to stay with Maple Leafs beyond current season: "I want to be here long term"

This off-season has been a wild ride for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and while the future of Mitch Marner is seemingly more set in stone, we know less about John Tavares, even after the captaincy was taken from him and handed to Auston Matthews.

However, John Tavares as always has been full of class throughout the whole situation, and with the players arriving for training camp, he made it clear in an interview that he wants to stay in Toronto for the long haul.

Seven years ago, John Tavares arrived in Toronto as a free agent from New York, with the sole goal of ending the Maple Leafs Stanley Cup drought, and while that's not yet happened, the now 33-year old appears intent on following through with that lofty goal.

In six seasons with the Maple Leafs, Tavares has been fantastic, playing in 440 games, tallying 184 goals and 419 points, and while the team are yet to get it done in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it's not been through a lack of effort. It was Kyle Dubas that brought Tavares to Toronto, but now it's up to Brad Treliving to keep him here, so as we head into his final season of his current deal, it appears both sides want to keep him, so we will wait and see if the two sides can come to an agreement that keeps him in Toronto for the rest of his career.

John Tavares will retire as a Toronto Maple Leaf! You heard it here first.