Bruins Meeting With Free Agent John Tavares On Tuesday
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins will make their free agent pitch to John Tavares Tuesday in California.
Boston GM Don Sweeney and his staff flew out west Monday night, as the Bruins are one of six teams vying for Tavares' services this offseason. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and his incumbent team -- the New York Islanders -- are also in the Tavares sweepstakes this summer. The Maple Leafs were the first team make their case to the free agent center, meeting with Tavares and his representatives for two hours on Monday night.
The Islanders have reportedly placed an eight-year, $88 million offer on the table for Tavares. New York is the only team that can offer that eighth year, with all the other contenders only allowed to offer a seven-year pact.
According to NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty, Sweeney was joined by Bruins president Cam Neely and head coach Bruce Cassidy for his recruiting trip. No current Bruins players or Boston sports stars were brought along to help sell Tavares on the Bruins.
Tavares is one of the biggest names on the open market this offseason and should get a big-money deal no matter where he lands. He's expected to become the second highest-paid player in the league, likely coming in behind the $12.5 million annually that Connor McDavid gets from the Edmonton Oilers.
Tavares, who will turn 28 in September, has been one of the NHL's most prolific scorers since the Islanders drafted him first overall in 2009. He has 621 points over his career (272 goals, 349 assists), which ranks ninth in the NHL over that span. He's coming off a 37-goal, 84-point season in 2017-18, but finished a minus-12 for an Islanders team that missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
