Auston Matthews is back and the signs of his return were evident after his skate with teammates on Long Island. The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly often in conversation with Mitch Marner and John Tavares' agents about a contract extension. According to TSN's Chris Johnston, who appeared on TSN 1050's First Up with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo [https://post.futurimedia.com/chumam/playlist/listen-53655.html] on Tuesday, the two parties haven't ruled out an in-season signing. "They haven't made any decisions that this has to wait until the end of the year. My understanding is there's pretty ongoing dialogue between the agents for those players and the Leafs. It's not to say they're exchanging official offers at this point. I don't know if it's at that level. But I do think that it's kind of a process that's playing out," Johnston said. "Look, you get to a certain point, as a player, it might make sense — I'm thinking specifically Marner — if you get close enough to July 1, you might want to take a peek. I think Tavares is a different situation because, you know, it's very apparent he wants to to stay here in Toronto. It doesn't mean he's going to stay for free. But I think he's at a different stage of his career. It's going to be a different-looking contract than Mitch Marner's next deal, no matter where it's signed. "I think that there's still a world that it can happen during this season, but I don't have any reason to believe it's coming today or tomorrow, and we'll just have to see how it plays out." Marner is on pace for a career year with the Maple Leafs. His 14 goals and 42 assists in 41 games put him in the team lead in points at the midway point of the season. Marner is fourth in NHL scoring, behind Mikko Rantanen, Leon Draisaitl, and Nathan MacKinnon. Tavares is also having a strong year in Toronto. The 34-year-old has 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points in 40 games this season. He's on pace to average a point per game for the sixth time in his NHL career. Johnston was asked if Tavares' contract — possibly one of his last deals in the league — could come with deferred money. Jake McCabe did that earlier this season when signing a five-year, $22.57 million extension with Toronto in October. "With Tavares, that approach makes sense. Just because, again, he really wants to be here, he's getting towards the end of his playing career, and I still think this is sort of a niche thing," said Johnston. "Basically, I don't think this works for all the players, but you might have specific financial needs or you might be at a specific part in your career. Jake McCabe did it on his extension and part of the thinking there was that it's probably his last NHL deal. Not for sure. And why not take a payment as you enter retirement? "I think that, depending on the length of Tavares' deal, especially if it came in Toronto, I think that there's probably something like that that could make sense for him." The Maple Leafs sit atop the Atlantic Division at the midway mark in the season with 54 points, four ahead of the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers. Every team wants to make additions at the trade deadline on March 7, even if they're in first place, to bulk up ahead of the postseason. There have been reports that Toronto is looking at center-depth for the playoffs. A player, preferably, with term. A couple of names that have been thrown out there are Seattle Kraken's Yanni Gourde [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/report-krakens-yanni-gourde-would-have-no-issue-with-trade-to-maple-leafs-ahead-of-trade-deadline] and former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/report-maple-leafs-among-potential-suitors-for-former-blackhawks-captain-jonathan-toews-as-forward-eyes-nhl-return]. What's Toronto's approach to the trade deadline right now, and in the future, as we enter the second half of the year? "As I sit here now, I'd say [Toronto's been] reasonably aggressive. That could always change. I mean, not to make any light of Jake McCabe's injury, but it underscores the fact that injuries are things that can still happen right up until the deadline that might change needs or change the kind of approach they take," Johnston said. "I think that they'll be among the pretty motivated buyers out there coming to March 7. They don't have their first-round pick this year, so they don't have a full cupboard completely, but I do think they have enough in terms of picks and prospects to make some additions that can help them for the playoffs." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExNjM5NDEwNTc4NDM0MDI0/googlenews.svg] Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwytvfCA?ceid=CA:en&oc=3] to never miss a story.
