Premier center John Tavares, the biggest name in a weak NHL free-agent field, left the New York Islanders to sign a seven-year contract worth an annual average of $11 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs, saying in his Twitter feed on Sunday that he made the decision “to live my childhood dream here in Toronto.”
Tavares, 27, had been pursued by many teams but last week narrowed the field to Toronto, the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars, in addition to listening to a pitch from the Islanders last week at the Los Angeles offices of Creative Artists Agency, which represents him.