Is Tavares worth his contract?

[Mitchy]

lol at that one game sample size.

He's been fine. He leads the league in shots from the slot.

Totally unimpressive.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Dude's not a leader hes a high end complimentary player that was asked to be the guy on the Island and could not cut it. Not his fault, very good player, but not great and not better than Matthews and Marner.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Streakier then I would like but he always puts in good effort and plays hard.
Even on an off night, he's creating chances. Idk if he's worth 11 mil, but we didn't have to give up assets to get an elite player which is great.

 

[Cotton]

Yeah, if he's on one of his lazy cold streaks and Matthews isn't healthy to pick up the slack, you're gonna lose a chunk of games until a few weeks later where he'll have a 4-point night in a 6-1 whooping of some other team. But until then, get ready for more 2-1 losses like the one against Dallas last night.

He certainly hasnt been lazy.

 

[valeriammm]

no

 

[justafan22]

not better than Matthews and Marner.​

Marner hasn't put up a PPG season yet. When that happens, for multiple years, then he's better.

 

[LamorielloAndSon]

He’s just seeing how good the isles are doing and how shit Babcock is with an actual nhl roster instead of an Olympic or world cup roster

 

[Rehabguy]

Streakier then I would like but he always puts in good effort and plays hard.
Even on an off night, he's creating chances. Idk if he's worth 11 mil, but we didn't have to give up assets to get an elite player which is great.

You need to look up the meaning of the word, "asset" cause $11 million dollars a year is about as vital an asset you can come by when cap space comes at a premium these days.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Sharks are circling and the Leafs still have a winning record, damn. I guess this is the best thing to attack right now considering the "AHL" defense we had has been pretty damn good..

But yeah, Tavares had a pretty poor game. However that's kind of his game. He goes out and is usually good enough to not get held in his own end during his shift. 2-3 times a game he either creates a chance or finishes one. Like it or not, at the end of the day the game is won by guys who can actually impact the game and you have to over pay for those guys.

But compared to Matthews he is not even close to as good.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Not a chance bud. The chickens are coming home to roost.

 

[Icebreakers]

A player with his history does not warrant 11m. No individual trophies or team trophies. No 90+ point seasons. 66 points 2 years ago..


He got over paid purely because he was a UFA and there was a bidding war.

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

Whether he is worth it will largely depend on the success that the team has. I think there is an expectation that the Leafs should be a perennial cup contender during this contract. If they can't make it to the dance and hoist a cup, this will be considered an albatross years 4,5,6,7.

If they win a cup in the first few years and he is a major contributor, none of their fans will give a shit what happens after IMO.

Expectations are definitely high - TML fans will see what they have while Matthew's is out - we'll see if he rises to the occasion and keeps them in playoff position with the absence of #34.

 

[Jtabo]

A player with his history does not warrant 11m. No individual trophies or team trophies. No 90+ point seasons. 66 points 2 years ago..


He got over paid purely because he was a UFA and there was a bidding war.

And because he was one of the most prolific junior players of all time.
And because he was a former 1st overall pick.
And because he led his team in scoring in 7 of 9 seasons with the islanders.
And because he was the captain for the last 5 seasons.
And because he is 10th in PPG among active NHLers who have minimum 500 points.
And because he is 6th in GPG among active NHLers who have minimum 200 goals.

But ya, his history does not warrant 11m and he got over paid purely because he was a UFA and there was a bidding war, in which he didnt accept the highest bid.

 

[Big Cactus]

His career is over dude, move on.

Trade for karlsson 1 for 1 lol?

 

[Icebreakers]

And because he was one of the most prolific junior players of all time.
And because he was a former 1st overall pick.
And because he led his team in scoring in 7 of 9 seasons with the islanders.
And because he was the captain for the last 5 seasons.
And because he is 10th in PPG among active NHLers who have minimum 500 points.
And because he is 6th in GPG among active NHLers who have minimum 200 goals.

But ya, his history does not warrant 11m and he got over paid purely because he was a UFA and there was a bidding war, in which he didnt accept the highest bid.

Those accolades do not warrant 11m. I don't even know what your trying to argue .Who cares about junior accomplishments or first overall pick.


Doughty got 11m and is head and shoulders above Tavares. If Tavares deserves 11m there's 15-20 other people in the NHL who deserve more than that

 

[Rehabguy]

Dude's not a leader hes a high end complimentary player that was asked to be the guy on the Island and could not cut it. Not his fault, very good player, but not great and not better than Matthews and Marner.

Yep you got it. JT was has a very good, but very specific type of skill set. It took the Islanders 9 years to realize it was not so much about finding a talented winger to show off his "greatness" as it was about finding the right player that would make him play great. They went through nearly the entire line-up before they realized you don't need a top line elite winger, but rather a player that would compliment his style of play. He's not a fast skater. He's not a creative playmaker. He's not the greatest passer in the world. He's cerebral. He's slow. He plays a very computational type of game. The cogs in with his linemates have to match perfectly for Tavares to have success. This is why he failed with creative, fast, slick players like Eberle and Barzal. He couldn't get into their rhythm. This is why he played well with Bailey and Lee. Neither is particularly a fast skater. Bailey tends to be a cerebral player like Tavares, but like Tavares he can demonstrate soft hands and a nose for the net. Lee can pretty much pot anything Tavares threw at the net. If he's not matched up with players like Bailey and Lee on the Leafs he's not going to score more than 65 or 70 points for the rest of his career and it should only trend downwards as he gets older. He is a very good player and he was the face of the Islanders, but not worth 11 million, not on the Isles and definitely not on the Leafs. He's a complimentary player worth maybe 7.5 million or at most 8 million a year, throw in the snake factor and he should have come with a significant discount.

EDIT: To be fair there were times when he was very clutch for the NYI, but "clutch" didn't get us very far. There was one point in time I thought he was better than Giroux. He is not. All the props to Giroux for sticking with his team when the going got rough. Kudos to him and that demonstrates true leadership. I want to kick myself every I think of myself having defended this fool.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Find a center better than Tavares not names McDavid, Crosby, Malkin, McKinnon, who can carry a team on their backs alone

Barzal

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

Find a center better than Tavares not names McDavid, Crosby, Malkin, McKinnon, who can carry a team on their backs alone

Mathews
Eichel
Pettersson
Backstrom
Barkov
Scheifele
Bergeron
Kopitar
Seguin

These are centres i think that are better than Tavares OR who i would choose over Tavares if i was starting a team today.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Mathews
Eichel
Pettersson
Backstrom
Barkov
Scheifele
Bergeron
Kopitar
Seguin

These are centres i think that are better than Tavares OR who i would choose over Tavares if i was starting a team today.

No Barzal on this list. Would you trade Barzal for any of these guys straight up or are you viewing Barzal still as future potential star? I would think the Leafs would trade JT for Barzal straight up, even with money aside.

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

No Barzal on this list. Would you trade Barzal for any of these guys straight up or are you viewing Barzal still as future potential star? I would think the Leafs would trade JT for Barzal straight up, even with money aside.

I love matt barzal, hes as dynamic as they come but i dont think you can build a team around him w. Him being the main piece. Hes a set up man that can produce points.

Kinda like you cant build a team around Marner. Hes a great piece to have tho

 

[Islanders4Cups]

I love matt barzal, hes as dynamic as they come but i dont think you can build a team around him w. Him being the main piece. Hes a set up man that can produce points.

I would argue you can build a solid first line around him without having a complimentary second line center, even in his second season.

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

I would argue you can build a solid first line around him without having a complimentary second line center, even in his second season.

But im talking about winning cups.

Can Isles win the cup w Barzal being the best player ?

The list i made are in imo centres that their respective teams can win the cup with if they were the best players on their team.

I just dont believe Barzal plays that type of game but it doesnt take away from his talent.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

But im talking about winning cups.

Can Isles win the cup w Barzal being the best player ?

The list i made are in imo centres that their respective teams can win the cup with if they were the best players on their team.

I just dont believe Barzal plays that type of game but it doesnt take away from his talent.

The Islanders are not cup ready nor are most of the teams there. Take any of those guys on the Islanders and they won’t win a cup either. The question really is, list players you would put on the Leafs as a second center instead of JT.

 

[Bounces R Way]

I've always thought he was a terrific player, really smart, fantastic vision, great hands, wicked shot, elevates his linemates, and is above average defensively. What he has never been however is fast. With the game speeding up year to year I could see him starting to become less effective over the term of this contract.

With that being said you can't exactly make any quality judgments 2 months into a 7 yr 77million dollar deal.

 

[LeafGrief]

How's the Laine 4th liner thread going?