John Tavares Extension Could Set Up Surprise Reunion With Former Teammate in Toronto, per Insider

With the elimination of the Maple Leafs from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all focus now shifts to the offseason and what kind of changes are going to come for a team who has consistently dealt with heartbreak and failure.

There may be several faces gone and a brand new team come 2025-26, and with questions surrounding Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Matthew Knies' contracts, you can expect things to heat up in the coming weeks.

Marner is more than likely headed out of town, meanwhile it's a high possibility Toronto re-signs Knies to a huge extension and keep him as a star for the long-term.

But what of Tavares? He's getting older but still contributing, and coming off a very respectable year, Toronto is looking to keep him around and we all know he wants to stay.

If he does re-sign, that would be huge for keeping the chemistry of the team around, though the Maple Leafs might be willing to bring in an old friend for some reinforcements:

With John Tavares hopefully locked up in the coming weeks, it's believed the team would also target former teammate Brock Nelson, who is a pending free agent and is more than likely headed out of Colorado.

Both men have a storied history, playing together in New York from 2013-14 to 2017-18 but much like the issue in Toronto, never really found any playoff success.

But it wouldn't be too shocking to see Toronto try and reunite the two. Nelson and Tavares are both centres, but are both capable of playing the wing. More than likely, Nelson would switch to the wing while Tavares mans the pivot still.

There is the issue of his age (33) and many wonder if it's worth putting out so much money for another aging veteran. But you can't argue with his results and his stint in Colorado is an outlier to who he is.

Over the past seven seasons, Nelson has averaged 28.8 goals and 57 points while consistently adding solid defense, low penalty minutes, and has been a power play monster for most of his career.

He might not be the cheapest option, with a potential to have anywhere from a $6.5-8.5M deal for the next few years. Is that a big enough change for Toronto to find success?

He hasn't been proven to win in the playoffs, and there are other potential free agents who would fit that bill and the system a lot better.

But there's no denying the skill Brock Nelson could add, and his history with John Tavares means he would fit in pretty well with his old captain.

At least, that's what we hope would happen, but this is the Maple Leafs after all.