John Tavares is a Maple Leaf.Tavares tweeted out the news himself, bidding farewell to New York Islanders fans while saying he wanted to live out “his childhood dream.”The Toronto-born all-star centre, perhaps the biggest name to hit unrestricted free agency in the NHL’s salary-cap era, agreede to a seven-year deal worth $77 million (all dollars U.S.) and instantly raises the fortunes and expectations of a Maple Leafs team expected to be a Stanley Cup contender for years.Tavares augments a lineup built around youngsters Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.The Leafs also lost players to free agency: Tyler Bozak to St. Louis, James van Riemsdyk to Philadelphia, Roman Polak to Dallas and Tomas Plekanec to Montreal. Depth winger Josh Jooris also signed at one-year, $650,000 deal with the Leafs according to Sportsnet. The 27-year-old played nine games for the Penguins last year.The Tavares signing dwarfs those moves, though, and stands as a huge boost for first-year GM Kyle Dubas, who perhaps adjusted the team’s big-barrel approach that failed to land Steven Stamkos two years ago. Stamkos returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning before the clock struck on unrestricted free agency.Big names have switched teams before, including Scott Niedermayer bolting the New Jersey Devils for the Anaheim Ducks in 2005-06 and ultimately winning a Stanley Cup there in 2007. Another big move in recent years was the twin signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter by the Minnesota Wild in 2012-13.But typically big names — unless traded — have stayed put, with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Stamkos, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane eschewing free agency for the comfort of the team that drafted them.Tavares is a difference-maker, well known in Toronto since his days as 15-year-old playing in the OHL for the Oshawa Generals, and later with Nazem Kadri on the London Knights.Tavares has 272 goals, 349 assists for 621 points in 666 games. H ...
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