Toronto Maple Leafs at risk of losing another Core 4 member after terrible decision moments ago

The Toronto Maple Leafs are likely nearing the end of an era after their latest postseason collapse, as both Mitch Marner and John Tavares are up for new contracts.

Because of their inability to move past the 2nd round of the postseason during the entire Toronto era of the "Core 4" of players that include Marner, Tavares, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, the team could choose to move in a new direction without one or both of Marner and Tavares.

While most of the focus will be on Marner's free agency decision, the Leafs may have actually blown a chance to re-sign Tavares at below market value.

Per NHL analyst Pierre LeBrun on TSN's OverDrive, the Maple Leafs missed a chance to get Tavares to agree to an extremely team-friendly deal in September but that is because of his strong year of 74 points (38G, 36A), that number will likely go up in his free agency demands.

The Blackhawks have been listed as a team that could show interest in trying to sign Marner, but there's potential that Tavares could be a Plan B for them. While an AAV (average annual value) of $5 million per year may be too little for what Tavares would accept, an AAV of $7-8 million a year would still be approximately half of what Marner will likely be commanding on the open market.

If Tavares decides to leave the Leafs after 7 years, should the Blackhawks come calling, especially if Marner chooses to sign elsewhere other than Chicago?