Rumor: Team prepared to offer John Tavares upwards of $80 million dollars.

It's probably going to be a very good summer for New York Islanders captain John Tavares.

While there has never been any doubt that the New York Islanders would make a concerted effort to keep their captain by offering him a major new National Hockey League deal, it sounds like they are willing to break the bank to do so.

Islanders insider Arthur Staples has reported that he believes the Islanders will offer Tavares a deal that would be worth more than $80 million dollars. For some perspective that's more than an NHL team's entire salary cap space for a single season.

From Staples(emphasis our own):

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He is eligible to sign a new deal on July 1 and the Islanders, from owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky on down, have spent the better part of a year keeping the lines of communication open with Pat Brisson, Tavares’ agent, on the organization’s plans.

The team is likely to offer Tavares an eight-year contract worth upward of $10 million per season.

Of course it's still entirely up to whether or not Tavares will accept a deal from the Islanders given the current turmoil with the team's arena situation and failure to make the postseason.