John Tavares linked to Utah Hockey Club by Jeff Marek live on air

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Aaron Itovitch
June 10, 2024 (4:33 PM)

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John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs' core four suffered another first-round loss this year, and big moves are becoming likely.

While Mitch Marner is the most likely player to move, there have been rumblings, notably on the popular 32 Thoughts Podcast, about captain John Tavares.

While Elliotte Friedman still believes steadfastly that John Tavares will stay in Toronto - at least for the 2024-25 season, Jeff Marek thinks otherwise. Marek believes that the NHL's newest project, Utah Hockey Club, could be the right fit for the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

EF: "Everything can always be made to make sense to me but I am under the impression that Tavares is going to play in Toronto next year"

Marek on Tavares: "I had a conversation with someone who wondered about a team like Utah and here's why, Utah has a lot of young players, Logan Cooley is an obvious one, Utah is most likely in the business for veteran players on short-term deals and the theory is that they could offer Tavares a pretty healthy number on a 2-yr contract as a why to entice him to waive a no-trade, would that make sense to you?"

John Tavares will not be easy to move for the Toronto Maple Leafs due to his no move clause and his 11-million dollar salary, however, for teams like NHL Utah who will need to reach the salary cap floor, he could provide significant experience. This will definitely be a file to watch.

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Jeff Marek links John Tavares to young western conference team