List of my predicted teams Tavares might go to:

1. St. Louis Blues- this one is obvious, imagine a Tavares/Tarasenko top line, then Schenn centering the second line. Big concern is cap space, Stastny’s contract will come of the books, however, Edmundson will be looking for a raise in salary. St. Louis may need to make a trade to pull this off.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets- Columbus has made it clear they need a center. Trading Jenner, and letting Calvert leave in free agency would help. However, Johnson requires a new contract. Still, with more cap space than most contending teams, Columbus could be a legitimate destination.

3. New York Islanders- if John gets cold feet, he may just stay. New York does have some intriguing prospects coming, and there is hope for a nice arena. Still a garbage GM, and a weak roster may force Tavares to play his hand.

4. Montreal Canadiens- the Habs always seem to be involved in any potential blockbuster move. Bergevin would be wise to inquire of Tavares, as any hockey fan knows Montreal’s center depth is seriously questionable.

5. San Jose Sharks- an aging roster could use Tavares as Thornton will likely walk as a UFA this season. However, with guys like Hertl and Tierney likely wanting raises, a trade would potentially be needed before signing Tavares.

Im bias, so I would say his top choice is Montreal (NYI always comes first IMO), but Montreal seems like the logical choice. The core is similar to his age and they will remain competitive during the rest of his Career, and lastly they have the Cap Space to give him the 10-12 Million that he deserves. He would really be the missing link to Montreals Stanley Cup hopes. Just imagine the Toronto vs Montreal Rivalry if both teams were Stanley cup Favorites?

The Islanders are performing better than expected, so that could help their case for keeping Tavares. No one really expected them to be this competitive, but Tavares has found good chemistry with Josh Bailey. The only issue with this is that there are several pending UFAs this offseason that the Islanders need to keep in order to stay competitive. Kulemin, Chimera, Seidenberg, and Halak come off the books, but both Tavares and Bailey need extensions, in addition to de Haan and Hickey. Hickey seems most likely to leave. They also have several RFAs that need to be re-signed: Nelson, Prince, and Pulock are the primary ones, with Quine and Mayfield as maybes. If I were Tavares, I'd hate to sign an extension and then see my first line chemistry partner leave in FA. But that may be necessary, as Bailey is having a stellar year.

The Islanders also have a good crop of prospects for the future, which can be encouraging for Tavares: Ho-Sang, Barzal, Bellows, and maybe even Dal Colle if he can get his game together. They also have a couple of good goalie prospects for the future in Soderstrom and Sorokin.

Couldn't put it better myself.

If he were to reach UFA status on July 1, St. Louis is the dream fit on paper. They can probably be considered Cup contenders already, and putting Tavares in the place of Stastny makes them the clear cut favorites in the West. Montreal is a good fit on paper as well, but I don't think they'd be Cup contenders quite yet with JT. Still needing some depth scoring and another quality defenseman, but he'd go a long way. San Jose is a dark horse for him, although I doubt the current lineup has the longevity that some other teams can provide for him. Columbus would have to move some money to make it work, but it can be done. With PLD playing well to this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved Wennberg to try and free up some more money.

But imagine Tavares and Panarin together. Oh boy. RIP Metro Division