John Tavares appreciation thread

[nuck]

17:41 TOI a game so 4 minutes less a night than Matthews. WTF? 44th in minutes among centers. Has he maybe been playing hurt? I get that he has not been tearing it up since that early spurt but what might be Keefes thinking? Are the 3rd and 4th line Cs worth stripping his ice time for? Maybe the reduced role is affecting his confidence and that is leading to a further reduced role.

He needs to be playing over 19:00 a night unless there is a medical issue. You can't play your way through a slump from the bench. It isn't like they have a Kadri to roll out in the #3 spot.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Interesting answers id imagine if u asked 31 Gm's in the NHL, who would u rather have, Tavares or Kadri. I would say its close if u dont factor in the contract but when u factor in the contract, Kadri would be the easy choice. Tavares has 4 more years after this year. I dont want to see Tavares ice time go up, his skating looks extra slow this year. Back pressure is eating him up when has the puck in the neutral zone, also when he tries to implement back pressure he is easily dropped in his pursuit. His contract is going to look really bad in 2 years, nevermind right now, Tavares is over paid. He is worth 8-8.5 million.

 

[mapleleaf979]

To be fair to Tavares, he has no linemates right now. Marner was good for him but Marner and Matthews are better together. Nylander is not an ideal linemate for Tavares. I dont think people realize the anxiety Nylander creates for his linemates, based on him being an enigma from game to game.

 

[The Iceman]

One important point to remember. The Tavares we all wanted as a UFA was a career 33 goal/year scorer based on 82 games.

The 47 he through on the board his first year as a Leaf massively exceeded his career norms. We should be happy with JT playing a strong 2 way game and putting up 35 goals a season as a 2C.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I didn't want to start a new thread but wtf is going on with Tavares? I excused last season because I was certain he was dealing with a nagging hand injury but he's looked terrible this season too. It feels like the Matthews line combined with the wins has really covered up his poor performance. John Tavares should dominate, not be a 2nd thought.

 

[Stephen]

To be fair to Tavares, he has no linemates right now. Marner was good for him but Marner and Matthews are better together. Nylander is not an ideal linemate for Tavares. I dont think people realize the anxiety Nylander creates for his linemates, based on him being an enigma from game to game.

To my eyes, it looks like Tavares is the one who is out of sync right now and nothing to do with either Kerfoot or Nylander. To isolate the problem, it's maintaining speed while carrying the puck which creates two other problems:

When Tavares receives a pass or gets to a loose puck, he has that stop up, post up tendency and starts stickhandling stationary while the other team kind of swarms him in open ice. In the past, we'd see him try to compensate by doing his little aggressive zig zags and hard evasive slalom style maneuvers, use his lower body strength to fight off the opposition before he's entirely swarmed but he's not as aggressive with that this year.

This means he's basically stickhandling while at a standstill with two or three checkers draped all over him, which forces him to take a low percentage slap shot, throw something on net, make a broken play, or turn over the puck altogether. So the range of possibilities is often distributing the puck in chaotic and unpredictable ways to his teammates or the opposition.

In terms of statistics, it's never a problem with him, but has a way of masking over a lot of inconsistent play. He has 2 GP 1 G 1 A 2 PTS in the Ottawa and Montreal games that just passed, which is a PPG and looks pretty decent from distance. But if you actually watched both of those, his declining ice time and how he's basically being force fed a scoring chance in a 7-3 blow out or getting a second assist in his own zone on the 5th goal in a 5-3 win, it's not so great.

At the end of the day, if we get out of the North Division and make a long run we need Tavares to do something, anything that don't waste the season that the Big Line is having. If he can give us $7 million hockey and guys like Thornton, Spezza, Simmonds and company stay strong we will be in good shape. But right now, it's just a painful process to watch.

 

[Not My Tempo]

Both Nylander and Tavares are above 50% in terms of Shots, Corsi, and expected goals. They are allowing less shots against this year than last year, but on the flip side they’re also taking less shots. The expected goals difference is similar this year and last.

In terms of shots, their rates are similar to Matthews and Marner, but their expected goals are trailing. It makes me think their low shooting percentage isn’t just bad luck, they might be taking less dangerous shots than Marner/Matthews.

 

[34]

I think Spezza looks better. He's got a really long leash though because of that contract. If there is anyway out of the contract, you take it.

Yeah, if there is a way to trade Tavares or get out of the contract you do it. He has a no trade in his contract though.

Can we not just trade him for Eichel?

 

[frizzer1]

Based on salaries, give or take, if they hadn’t signed Tavares they might have Kadri, Johnsson, and kapanen on this roster.

 

[Teeder Keon]

Maybe or use the money for 1 or 2 players that could possibly help us differently
I’m good with JT and playoffs is where he will help us the most .
I also didnt have a problem with parting ways with Mango and Kap

 

[The Podium]

The Tavares line has been solid defensively. Dont mind the lack of production short term if he keeps it up. Definitely needs to figure it out though.

 

[nuck]

Based on salaries, give or take, if they hadn’t signed Tavares they might have Kadri, Johnsson, and kapanen on this roster.

Or Kadri and Pietrangelo. Or maybe a different goalie. I think they would have spent every nickel they had in any case so would still be cap stressed today from Covid flattening things.

Willies ice time and production are way down this year as well. They are winning so it isn't costing them yet but I concerns on whether they are being used properly. If Keefe didn't see last season as a breakout year to build on for Nylander maybe he thinks things need to be optimized for the "big two" and the rest of the lineup is crack filler? Travis Boyd with 1:57 pp time and Mo on the pk last night show he will mix things up. Its only the 1/3 mark so things could be different by mid season too.

 

[Confucius]

Yeah, if there is a way to trade Tavares or get out of the contract you do it. He has a no trade in his contract though.

Can we not just trade him for Eichel?

There's an idea, Eichel 2 goals this year.
JT 17 points in 19 games and that's playing abysmal according to some. Playing with a linemate who may be playing worse? Can't wait until they both break out.

 

[34]

There's an idea, Eichel 2 goals this year.
JT 17 points in 19 games and that's playing abysmal according to some. Playing with a linemate who may be playing worse? Can't wait until they both break out.

Not sure JT will.

 

[cookie]

Given what we've seen out of him over the years, a cold Tavares turning hot will be a force to be reckoned with. Now imagine his hot streak opening up more room for Matthews, providing those crucial goals in the playoffs, etc. The main takeaway with JT is that he's working and eventually that will transfer to results.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Based on salaries, give or take, if they hadn’t signed Tavares they might have Kadri, Johnsson, and kapanen on this roster.

Kadri + Johnsson + Kapanen = 9 goals 12 assists
Tavares = 6 goals 11 assists

He's 1 good game away from outscoring the 3 of them combined and that's while he's playing at maybe 60-70%. Not to mention he's by far the best defensively of them.

 

[Confucius]

Kadri + Johnsson + Kapanen = 9 goals 12 assists
Tavares = 6 goals 11 assists

He's 1 good game away from outscoring the 3 of them combined and that's while he's playing at maybe 60-70%. Not to mention he's by far the best defensively of them.

Keep in mind to gain all those points from the 3 guys you mentioned not only do we lose JT's points but 2 other players we are using everyday.

 

[uncleben]

Based on salaries, give or take, if they hadn’t signed Tavares they might have Kadri, Johnsson, and kapanen on this roster.

And Tavares is better than all three of them...

 

[ER89]

To be fair to Tavares, he has no linemates right now. Marner was good for him but Marner and Matthews are better together. Nylander is not an ideal linemate for Tavares. I dont think people realize the anxiety Nylander creates for his linemates, based on him being an enigma from game to game.

Um, JT is the enigma himself. He has been total ass this entire season. Just as much as william- but you can't bench the captain in toronto without it creating a controversy.

 

[CelticDruid]

JT, has the look of someone who can't seem to find his game.

 

[Stephen]

JT, has the look of someone who can't seem to find his game.

To my eyes it looks like anyone tasked with playing on a Tavares line starts looking a little bit like William Nylander.

 

[34]

Would Tavares waive his no trade? Will Dubas ask him to waive?

Is he even tradable?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I don’t appreciate him at all right now actually.

 

[saffronleaf]

I'm putting some pins into my JT voodoo doll tonight

 

[6ix]

As much as everyone was not happy with the Marner contract at the time, it looks like John Tavares is the bad contract on the leafs. It’s a disgrace that he’s wearing the C.