One only can imagine the look on Garth Snow’s face when the Islanders general manager heard about the contract extension Oilers’ wunderkind Connor McDavid reportedly has agreed to in principle.
That’s because all of the Islanders’ business is being done in the hopes of keeping their star, John Tavares, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Snow can make an official offer to Tavares starting Saturday, when NHL free agency opens. But in light of McDavid’s reported eight-year deal worth $13.25 million per season, the price of keeping Tavares may have gone up.
It’s hard to compare the two stars. McDavid is 20 years old and just led the league in scoring while winning the Hart Trophy. His entry-level deal will run its course this season, after which he would have been a restricted free agent. Tavares will turn 27 years old by the time this season starts, and he has finished in the top five for the Hart Trophy once.
But Tavares is the bedrock of the Islanders’ organization, and should he depart, it would leave the roster in peril. If Snow thought he could come in with an eight-year deal around $10 million per to keep Tavares, that might no longer be the case.
Tavares has shown loyalty to the organization, and has made it clear his preference is to stay. But it’s hard to fathom he would do so at some type of major discount. More than anything, Tavares wants to be on a winning team, and he assuredly has been watching closely as Snow maneuvers to add talent. In that regard, this offseason is off to a good start. First Snow traded Ryan Strome to the Oilers for Jordan Eberle. Then, at the draft, he dealt Travis Hamonic to the Flames for a slew of picks — prime assets in another deal — which surely seems to be Snow’s intention.
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“This was a situation where we felt we could capitalize on some assets we can use in the future in a draft, or use them in a currency in a future player transaction,” Snow said at the draft. “That is a luxury our organization has.”
Another luxury is entering a second year with owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin writing the checks. As of now, the Islanders have approximately $9.3 million in space under the cap ceiling, with restricted-free-agent defensemen Calvin de Haan and Adam Pelech still to sign.
It will be tough to lure a worthy unrestricted free agent to Brooklyn, where the Islanders might not be playing in a few years. Snow instead likely is looking for a trade. But the cap space has to be thought of in the context of adding Tavares’ large hit next season — and hit that has been colored by McDavid’s new deal.
“We think the world of him,” Snow said of Tavares. “We want him to retire as an Islander.”
But how much that will cost now is a larger question.