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DALLAS — Let the courting process period begin. Or, in the case of John Tavares, let the bidding war begin.

The 27-year-old, who has spent his entire NHL career with the New York Islanders, becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and his agent has already let it be known that Tavares intends on listening to offers from a select group of five teams during a five-day negotiation window that begins on Monday.

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Theoretically, that means San Jose, Toronto and perhaps Dallas, Tampa Bay and Vegas should have an equal opportunity of signing arguably the biggest free agent in recent memory.

Then again, don’t bet on it.

The Islanders are not out of the mix. If anything, they’re still the preferred choice.

This feels all too familiar. Two years ago, it was Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos who was supposedly willing to entertain offers heading into the summer free agency period. He did, with the Leafs making a generous offer to the Markham, Ont., native. And then, two days before July 1, Stamkos signed an eight-year contract worth US$68 million with the team that drafted him and which also gave him the best chance to win a Stanley Cup.