The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has re-signed forward John Tavares to a four-year contract extension. The average annual value of the contract is $4.38 million. Tavares, 34,

Maple Leafs GM's First Words After John Tavares Contract Extension originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Toronto Maple Leafs will enjoy four more years of former team captain John Tavares, and general manager Brad Treliving made clear that the extension came together only because the player was determined to stay.

It was sometimes said that John Tavares took a hometown discount when he signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Maple Leafs seven years ago, all because one other team, the San Jose Sharks, was prepared to pay him more. Tavares’ $11 million cap hit still ranked right near the top of the league for the entirety of the deal.