Tavares tells Maple Leafs talking contract, 'don't take it for granted'

John Tavares has advice for three Toronto Maple Leafs teammates in their negotiations as restricted free agents.

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"Just keep your energy and focus on the ice, just don't change who you are," said Tavares, who signed a seven-year, $77 million contract as an unrestricted free agent July 1. "You've come to this point for a reason, been very successful for a long time, and in a short period of time here in the NHL and at such a young age it's very impressive.
"I think just keep your focus on doing what you do every day and knowing you're very fortunate to play in the NHL and have this opportunity. Don't take it for granted, that's just the way I've always approached it, and I certainly sense that among the guys in this group."
Restricted free agent William Nylander remains in Sweden with negotiations continuing between the Maple Leafs and his agent. The 22-year-old forward missed the season opener, a 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, and is not expected to play in two games this weekend.
Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner, each 21, can be a restricted free agent July 1, 2019. The forwards became eligible to sign a contract extension as of July 1, 2018.
The skill level of Toronto's young core was one of the selling points when Tavares left the New York Islanders, where he played the first nine seasons of his NHL career.
Marner led Toronto last season with 69 points (22 goals, 47 assists) in 82 games. Matthews had 63 points (34 goals, 29 assists) in 62 games, and Nylander had 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) in 82 games.
On Friday, Tavares said he got the sense when talking to Maple Leafs during his free agency that they were willing to buy in from a financial perspective to keep the team together.
"There's not a doubt in this locker room, I think everyone is buying in and wants to buy in to what's going on here," the 28-year-old center said. "I certainly saw that talking to a lot of the players during the interview process. I certainly got that sense and why I felt strongly why things can work here. I always talked about if I was to leave Long Island, I didn't want to go somewhere and subtract."

Tavares said he believes he will play with Nylander this season. If Nylander does not sign a contract by Dec. 1, he cannot play in the NHL this season.
"It's a negotiation, and things take their own time, their own process, and sometimes there's some tough moments through it," Tavares said of Nylander. "I think at the end of the day, things will get resolved, and I'm looking forward to hopefully having Willy here as soon as he can."
Nylander, who is coming off his entry-level contract, reiterated his desire to remain with the Maple Leafs on Thursday in an interview with Aftonbladet, a newspaper in Sweden.
"I need to think long-term. It's my future we're talking about here," Nylander said.
Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan suggested Wednesday that the players coming up for contracts in the future would have to sacrifice something financially if they are to stay together trying to win the first Stanley Cup for Toronto since 1967.
Shanahan referenced his playing days with the Detroit Red Wings when he said players would take less money to allow others to join an established core, citing when forwards Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull signed before the 2001-02 season. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup that season, which was before the NHL instituted a salary cap in 2005-06.
"We all found a way to (financially) fit with each other so that we could keep adding to the group," said Shanahan, who won the Cup three times with Detroit. "And that's obviously what we are asking some of young leaders to do. There's a lot of other voices, and understandably so. And like I said, it's not for everyone and we're not for everyone. But we think that the players that we currently have, while it's not going to be easy, we have great confidence that they have bought into being a part of this program and being a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs and representing Toronto in a way that they understand what's going to be most important."
Tavares signed his second contract with the New York Islanders, a six-year, $33 million deal with an average annual value of $5.5 million, with one year remaining on his entry-level contract, a situation similar to Matthews and Marner. Tavares had 121 points (53 goals, 68 assists) in 161 NHL games at that point.
Tavares also reportedly received more lucrative offers before signing with Toronto.
"No question (you want to maximize value), there's always two sides, it's a negotiation, you're always trying to come up with something that's fair and reasonable," Tavares said. "I think there's always give and take, that's part of any negotiation in any type of business, not just hockey. It's not an easy thing to go through, but certainly you just try to control what you can control and that's why you hire an agent and a support system around you to kind of handle some of those things. Hopefully things get close enough that both sides want to get it done."
NHL.com correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report