John Tavares has made it clear—he’d love to retire as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, we also know that the veteran forward would prefer to sign a contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the March 7 trade deadline.

There are multiple factors Toronto should consider before cementing Tavares' place on the roster moving forward.

With just 10 days until the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs are a key focus in ongoing NHL discussions. While their deadline approach is a major storyline, they also have two significant pending unrestricted free agents to consider—John Tavares and Mitch Marner.

Why haven't the Leafs tried Mitch Marner at centre? Plus, the biggest differences between the Treliving and Dubas administrations and more.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares made it clear that he prefers to get an extension signed before the trade deadline on March 7th. With the Leafs set to take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, Tavares spoke with Sportsnet’s Luke Fox regarding the status of his expiring contract and where his mind is at.

The NHL trade deadline is a little over a week away and the Maple Leafs seem poised to add. But without any highly sought-after roster pieces, it’s possible the Leafs dip into their prospect pool to deal for help at centre and on the blue line.