How Good Is Tavares Right Now?

[Garthinater]

well actually no. matthews has 61, mcdavid has 63

The poster said "he's 21..." matthews is 20, McDavid is 21. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure he was talking about mcdavid

 

[hockeykicker]

The poster said "he's 21..." matthews is 20, McDavid is 21. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure he was talking about mcdavid

well then he is even more off then it would have been with matthews. ovechkin has more 5on5 goals since mcdavid came into nhl. so does marchand, tarasenko, etc

 

[King Mapes]

I can’t name that, but I can certainly name at least ten centers who are better than Matthews, let alone players.

McDavid
Crosby
Malkin
Backstrom
Bergeron
Stamkos
Kopitar
Getzlaf
Scheifele
Tavares
MacKinnon
Barkov
Giroux
Kuznetsov

There could be some arguments for a couple (say Getzlaf or Kuznetsov) but I feel comfortable saying he’s not a top ten player in the NHL right now.

lol you even listed Barkov who has never had a 30 goal season and just finished his first season with over 60 points. You're reaching with this list. The fact Barkov is ob it proves you just are hating.

 

[Boud]

How'd he do in the next round against Point?

I think Bergeron is a very good player and possibly underrated, but to point to one playoff series isn't the best way to prove a point.

That's why I mentioned over the years but you've omitted that part of my comment so what can I do lmao

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

I kinda hate these Leafs fans who are saying I go into every Leafs thread hating on the Leafs.

This isn't true. There have been times where I've voted for the Leafs player and have stated, multiple times, that I like the team.

However, I do not like the majority of fans either proclaiming they are god's given team to win a championship and then immediately play a victim card.

You can't have it both ways.

 

[Yackiberg8]

well actually no. matthews has 61, mcdavid has 63

2 more goals in 20 more games.....

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

lol you even listed Barkov who has never had a 30 goal season and just finished his first season with over 60 points. You're reaching with this list. The fact Barkov is ob it proves you just are hating.

I'm sure there are plenty of others who feel Barkov is better than Matthews.

But lemme guess, poll doesn't count because people hate Leafs right? O=

 

[hockeykicker]

2 more goals in 20 more games.....

so now we have to get technical? lol all i did was just say it wasant right. which is not regardless of how many games played

 

[Yackiberg8]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/who-is-the-4th-best-centre.2443075/

It’s no secret that when a player dons the blue and white his perception on HF slowly but surely changes.

Funny how they are conveniently ignoring this post now that their posts have been proven to be laughable

 

[Yackiberg8]

so now we have to get technical? lol all i did was just say it wasant right. which is not regardless of how many games played

well it's a bit misleading putting it the way you did

 

[King Mapes]

I'm sure there are plenty of others who feel Barkov is better than Matthews.

But lemme guess, poll doesn't count because people hate Leafs right? O=

It says "this season". But if you'd seriously take Barkov over Matthews on your team...

 

[nbwingsfan]

lol you even listed Barkov who has never had a 30 goal season and just finished his first season with over 60 points. You're reaching with this list. The fact Barkov is ob it proves you just are hating.

What does what he did in the past have to do with who is better NOW? Barkov just scored 78pts while playing selke level defense. The extra 6pts Tavares scored doesn't make up for Barkovs incredible two way play.

For what it's worth, Tavares is still in my top 10:

McDavid
Crosby
Malkin
Schiefele
Kuznetsov
Kopitar
Bergeron
Barkov
Tavares
Seguin

In no particular order after the first 3.

 

[Kelly]

I can’t name that, but I can certainly name at least ten centers who are better than Matthews, let alone players.

McDavid
Crosby
Malkin
Backstrom
Bergeron
Stamkos
Kopitar
Getzlaf
Scheifele
Tavares
MacKinnon
Barkov
Giroux
Kuznetsov

There could be some arguments for a couple (say Getzlaf or Kuznetsov) but I feel comfortable saying he’s not a top ten player in the NHL right now.

Giroux isn't a C.

Also, Tavares, Barkov, Kuz, Getzlaf are all arguable -- so nothing certain about your list whatsoever.

 

[Notsince67]

I'm sure there are plenty of others who feel Barkov is better than Matthews.

But lemme guess, poll doesn't count because people hate Leafs right? O=

I'm pretty sure some people feel that the earth is flat.
Unfortunately there isn't much evidence to prove either.

 

[LeafFever]

He's good enough to make one of the most promising young teams get much worse apparently.

 

[34]

Giroux isn't a C.

Giroux is also NOT better than Tavares.

 

[King Mapes]

Giroux is also NOT better than Tavares.

Nobody said he was

 

[66-30-33]

Oh yes because only Leaf fans are biased. Non-Leaf fans don't change their opinions. LOL.
Read this thread. The compliments died the second he joined the Leafs.

I wish Pens had Tavares and Matthews instead of Crosby and Malkin.

 

[TexanGuy]

Tavares used to be Good and perhaps top 5, then he signed with Leafs and now is not even top 50 player.

 

[dlawong]

Giroux did not play a single game at Center last season. He was LW. Couturier was his Center. Couturier is also arguably better all-around than Tavares at this point, but has to cement that with another 75+ point Selke calibre season.

Tavares is a hard worker and has good hands and can score when he is in good position. He used to also thread really good passes especially from behind the net and he can forcheck pucks from bottom 4 Ds on your team. However he is not exactly your high end centre who can carry pucks all by himself 200 feet and out dangles opposition from end to end. In fact, I would say that now Hall is a better than him and of course Crosby and McDavid are way better than him.

There are are multiple games when he played against the top teams in this league that I would hoped he will make the difference by outplaying the opposing top centres but he came short. Yes he is very skilled but I do think his skating although improved is still the difference why he could not match up against the likes of Crosby, Bergeron and even Giroux in the many many losses to the Flyers over his playing career with Isles. He also does not match up well against bigger skill players like Benn, Getzlaf, and OV. His best games has always been against the weaker teams in the NHL. And then there is his shootout during the last two seasons that has become so bad I constantly wished the coaches do not use him on the shootout so isles have a chance to win those loser points.

These are my honest opinions from my observation of his plays over the last three years. However I am still a Tavares fan because he is extremely dedicated to the game so hope he find a way to improve under a better coach than the last couple he had. I do not hate him just because he left Isles and I am still a Isles fan because there are other players I like on that team.

 

[Rich Nixon]

Nobody said he was

Well, it's been a long-running HF debate. And Giroux is, by the way, better than Tavares, whether lining up as a C or as a LW, and will be until proven otherwise. Not worlds better, but better. And Giroux's "move to wing" isn't as cut-and-dry as some might think: He and Couturier pretty much split the ice, with Couturier acting as the center in the defensive half and Giroux handling it from the red line in. Giroux actually took more faceoffs last season than Couturier did (and finished 3rd in the league in %). It's mutually beneficial, because Couturier gets the benefit of playing with an offensive beast and Giroux gets the benefit of not having to be both top scorer and shutdown man.

I like Tavares a lot as a player, and I'm interested to see what he does on a new team with a different role (not the lone ray of hope, but a piece of a pretty strong puzzle). But I will say that I've never really feared him out there, not the way you do some guys. That might have been that the Islanders were painfully mediocre for most of his career, but he doesn't do a lot of things that awe you outright: He just has a good skillset and a good brain. Not particularly explosive, just effective. Not clutch, not a choker, that sort of thing. Want to see if that perception changes when he's not the sole target of team's best checking center and D pair.

Which kind of brings me back to that first 'graph...Giroux has always been a guy who can just go off on a team and do it all, throw a big hit and break up a pass and rip a shot in and win 4 straight faceoffs and set up another goal or two. He can also try to do too much and end up screwing over his defense (hence the new dynamic with Couturier). For better or for worse, Tavares has always seemed a kind of even-keel guy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I could see him putting up 91 points next season and I could just as easily see him putting up 67. He averaged almost 20 minutes per game last season as an Islander, I don't see him getting that much this season.

 

[Bieber fever]

I have him around 8th as center.I would take 3-4 Wingers and 3-4 Defensman over him. So imo he is somewhere around 15-16th in the league.

With upcoming guys like Barkov , Scheilfe , Dahlin ,Echel,ect. he’s going to be out ot the top 20 in 1-2 years

 

[Halla]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/who-is-the-4th-best-centre.2443075/

Tavares 4th in a landslide on these very boards

lets leave it at that. Just because he is a leaf doesn't make him 10-15 all of a sudden.
get real.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

lol you even listed Barkov who has never had a 30 goal season and just finished his first season with over 60 points. You're reaching with this list. The fact Barkov is ob it proves you just are hating.

His first season over 60 points? Talk about misleading. Barkov had 78 points in 79 games and was 5th in Selke voting. Even a lot of Leaf fans agree that he’s currently better than Matthews.
He clearly is the better player at this point.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/who-is-the-4th-best-centre.2443075/

Tavares 4th in a landslide on these very boards

lets leave it at that. Just because he is a leaf doesn't make him 10-15 all of a sudden.
get real.

The irony in all this "now he's a Leaf, everyone hates him" complaining is, if you look at who voted for whom in that linked poll, most Leaf fans voted for Matthews, not Tavares. There are very few actual Leaf fans who voted for Tavares.

So I guess the reverse is true as well? As soon as the Leafs sign someone, their fanbase rates them higher than previously?