Maple Leafs Getting 'Creative' On Tavares Offer, But He's 'Not Biting'

With Mitch Marner already as good as gone, the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to figure out a way to keep their other big pending unrestricted free agent, John Tavares in Blue & White. But the latest report suggested that the two sides were 'far apart.'

We're now getting more intel on the situation from insider Elliotte Friedman. Speaking on his 32 Thoughts podcast, he said the hold-up in negotiations is that the Leafs are looking to do something different, and that the Tavares camp doesn't seem interested at this point:

The word I've heard is 'creative.' It wouldn't surprise me here if Toronto is trying to defer money, too. I don't know that for sure, but I think it's possible. But I've heard that Toronto is trying to be creative, and right now Tavares isn't biting on what they're doing.

The problem is that the deal that 34-year-old Brock Nelson got from the Colorado Avalanche (three years, $7.5 million AAV), is what Tavares could likely get on the open market, notes Friedman. The Leafs center is one year older than Nelson, but has maintained better production. For context, the latest offer from the Leafs was reportedly a three-year deal for "less than $4 million." That's a considerable gap. How much of a 'hometown discount' would Tavares really be willing to give the Leafs?

One of the Toronto front office's points of leverage is that they know that Tavares badly wants to stay, so they're likely using that to drive the price down.

On the other side of that, however, is the fact that they already have a huge problem at center, with none really to speak of after No. 1 Auston Matthews. Can they really risk losing Tavares?

It's a fascinating situation to watch unfold.

The former Leafs captain racked up 38 goals this past season—his most since his first season in Toronto seven years ago—and 74 points in 75 games with a +10 rating.