Homeward bond: The center of the stars John Tavares selects Maple Leafs



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John Tavares asks Long Island to leave his hometown for the Toronto Maple Leafs

The captain of the New York Islanders has accepted a seven-year, $ 77 million contract with Toronto and announced his decision for a long time expected. a letter on his Twitter account about an hour after the opening of the signing period of the free agencies on Sunday

"The island, the fans, the organization, my teammates will always be special to me and my family, "wrote Tavares, who is from Toronto's suburb of Mississauga. "But it's time to live my childhood dream here in Toronto."

Tavares, 27, was the most prominent player on the market and spent last week meeting the Islanders, San Jose, Toronto, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Boston. Meanwhile until Sunday, Tavares has let the opportunity to sign an eight-year extension with the Islanders

Adding Tavares is a boon to the Maple Leafs, who already have the first-round pick of 2016, Auston Matthews.

And his start was a big blow to the Islanders, who chose Tavares with the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft. In order to retain Tavares, the team underwent an organizational transformation in recent months under the leadership from Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky, relatively new owners. They hired Lou Lamoriello as president of hockey operations and Barry Trotz as coach.

Tavares' signature eclipsed the other most notable deal of the day: James van Riemsdyk's return to Philadelphia for a $ 35 million deal. 19659002] The five-goal scorer of 20 goals spent his first three seasons in the NHL with the Flyers before being traded to Toronto in June 2012. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound left wing offers more Flyers Punch Veteran defender Jack Johnson will travel to Pittsburgh after accepting a $ 16.25 million five-year deal. Johnson, 31, is an NHL veteran for more than six seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Chicago Blackhawks caused a sensation by signing former Carolina striker Cam Ward, forward Chris Kunitz and defenseman Brandon Manning. Ward provides veteran Blackhawks insurance after Corey Crawford missed most of last season due to an upper-body injury

The Buffalo Sabers have filled a need among goalies signing a $ 8.25 contract with former St. Louis Blues player Carter Hutton. million of agreement. Hutton will share the starting positions with Linus Ullmark, who is responsible for making the leap to Buffalo after spending the last three seasons developing into the miners.

Attacker David Perron returned to St. Louis by signing a $ 16 million contract. case after setting career highs with 50 passes and 66 points last season with the expansion Golden Vegas Knights. St. Louis also signed a $ 15 million three-year contract with center Tyler Bozak and Chad Johnson, former substitute goalkeeper for the Sabers.

Other Notable Transactions:

-Tomas Plekanec is back in Montreal after accepting a one-year contract, a $ 2.25 million contract with Canadians. He spent his first 13 seasons in Montreal before being traded to Toronto in February

– The Minnesota Wild managed to reach agreements with Matt Hendricks and Eric Fehr for one year contracts.

-The Detroit Red Wings agree to sign goaltender Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Vanek. Bernier, 29, signed a three-year contract after a 19-13-3 record in 37 games with the Colorado Avalanche. Vanek signed a one year contract worth $ 3 million to return to the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent part of the 2016-17 season. Vanek opened last season with Vancouver and closed in Columbus

– The Arizona Coyotes have signed with star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson an eight-year contract extension that costs in average $ 8.25 million per year. the frenzy is over, the focus will shift to ongoing commercial speculation and negotiations involving teams trying to lock star players to long-term contracts. These players include Sabers center Ryan O'Reilly, Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson and Nashville defender Ryan Ellis.

More NHL Hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

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