Maple Leafs Could Take a Page From Lightning's Book as Tavares Decision Nears

When Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning had a bit of a falling out towards the latter half of his tenure there, the team decided to play a bit of hardball with him and he decided to head elsewhere, and signed with the Nashville Predators last summer.

So with the Maple Leafs in the same situation when it comes to John Tavares and his pending deal, should the team do the same thing?

The Maple Leafs should absolutely do the same. Look, for as good Tavares has been, he is getting older and unlike Stamkos hasn't reached those levels of success that warrant him getting a fairly big deal.

If money is truly the biggest factor in Tavares' career, a career mind you that's made over $100-million; then let him walk. There's no point in keeping anyone who doesn't want to fully commit to the team whether it's on the ice or signing a deal.

There's a new mindset in town, and no one is getting a free ride. Look at the Matthew Knies situation.

He's arguably the biggest deal the team needs to focus on right now and they are radio silent. A lot of talk is about whether Toronto wants to pay him so much for only a couple years of service, and while he's been great; the team doesn't want to run the risk of overpaying for hype.

We heard reports that the Maple Leafs put in an offer for three-years under $4-million per year. That's seemingly a disrespectful amount to Tavares, and truthfully it probably is.

But what's wrong with signing a deal worth $4.5-million for three years? That's still $13.5-million; only a few off of what Brock Nelson got; another player with as many playoff accomplishments as Tavares.

That proves that Tavares is willing to be loyal to the team he grew up admiring and dreaming about playing for, still allows him to be there in a competitive window, and still pays him a very respectable amount.

Stamkos left Tampa Bay and signed a very lucrative deal with the Nashville Predators for $32-million over four years. If Tavares believes he's worth that amount, then there's little to argue at least in terms of how good he's truly been in his career.

But look how things turned out for Stamkos; does he want to run the risk of doing the same thing and tarnishing his reputation?

Unlike Mitch Marner, probably not, and he'll want to work with the Maple Leafs to get a deal done. But if the team is truly looking for change, they should certainly balk at a Stamkos-level deal for Tavares and send a message to everyone.

This isn't the Toronto of old, and we're in for a completely different look come October.