Just a casual John Tavares conversation

[WilliamNylander]

Why would he do that? At this point in his career, he's looking for term.

Depends on if he wants to chase rings and then sign a long term deal after.

He's only 26, and he probably knows any team that pays him 10 x 7 is not going to be able to be a strong contender with depth. The nice thing is we hold all the leverage with free agents because of how stacked we are, especially with such a young/cheap core mostly on ELCs and ready to compete for a cup soon.

 

[Superstar]

I don't think Tavares is going anywhere: he'd rather be king of his own country, then queen of another.

 

[Faltorvo]

We already have enough centreman. Why pay hefty amount of money for Tavares?

wtf are you talking about

we have 2 C atm Mathews and kadri


Bozak =pending ufa during next season

Boyle, already gone?

ya ll pen in nylander as a good C, i would not rush into that

nylander could very well be more effective at wing then C

if i can run


-----mathews,marner


------tavares, nylander


-----kadri, brown

count me 1000% in

run it like Pitt, no need for elite D

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

Cant believe I am typing this but I have no interest in Tavares at all. There simply is no room for him since we got better options.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Yeah, makes no sense since its not a pressing need and it would only further put us in cap hell.

After getting rid of Dion Phaneuf's, Phil Kessel's and David Clarkson's contracts, I can't see them wanting to spending all that money to sign Tavares, assuming he made to July 1, 2018. Honestly they should be happy that Steven Stamkos choose to stay with Tampa and should save that cap space for Matthews, Marner and Nylander once their ELC deals are finished.

 

[taurine330]

Only big dollar UFA I would sign is McDavid.

 

[Confucius]

Only big dollar UFA I would sign is McDavid.

You wouldn't sign any Dmen? Before you say what Dmen are available...

I'd pass on JT unless he'd give us a HUGE home discount, I'm talking signing for 6 mill a year.

 

[Darth Menace]

Only big dollar UFA I would sign is McDavid.

Giving up the draft pics is one thing, but could the Leafs afford it and still keep the big 3 and ice the rest of the team? Doubtful. The 4 would command half of the salary cap

 

[ACC1224]

Giving up the draft pics is one thing, but could the Leafs afford it and still keep the big 3 and ice the rest of the team? Doubtful. The 4 would command half of the salary cap

Is that 5 or 6 years down the road? What will the Cap be by then?

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Stamkos has 2 Rockets and has captained his team to the SCF and ECF (I know he was injured).

Tavares has no personal award and has led his team no where.

Now I know Stamkos has a good supporting cast and Tavares doesn't, so don't start lecturing me on team accomplishments vs personal accomplishments.

I'm just saying, I think part of the reason we wanted Stammer was to lead our young team because he'd proven he could do it.

Tavares isn't Stamkos.

I'd still love to have him, but not anywhere near 10 M. And I'm not ok trading for him either.

Stamkos wasn't leading his team though in those playoffs. It's debateable if he was even the 3rd most important forward in either of those years. Remember the controversy about him having to play on the RW?

Stamkos has had St. Louis and now Kucherov to play with.

His career playoff number are 35 points in 49 games.

Meanwhile Tavares has had no top running mate to play with. He has dragged his team into the playoffs on his back and has more impressive playoffs number with 22 points in 24 playoffs.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

It all comes down to price tag.

If he'd take a Stamkos 8.5 cap hit type contract you absolutely sign him. But if Tavares wanted a 10+ like Kopitar or Toews wanted then you pass on him.

As much as I like a guy like Nylander if we could have Tavares at a cap hit that makes sense + then have Nylander as a trade chip to bring in a high end it's an easy decision.

 

[kk87]

I don't think Tavares is going anywhere: he'd rather be king of his own country, then queen of another.

Well he's already been King of his own country, so you're suggesting he now wants to be Queen in Toronto

 

[Sniper99]

Stamkos has 2 Rockets and has captained his team to the SCF and ECF (I know he was injured).

Tavares has no personal award and has led his team no where.

Now I know Stamkos has a good supporting cast and Tavares doesn't, so don't start lecturing me on team accomplishments vs personal accomplishments.

I'm just saying, I think part of the reason we wanted Stammer was to lead our young team because he'd proven he could do it.

Tavares isn't Stamkos.

I'd still love to have him, but not anywhere near 10 M. And I'm not ok trading for him either.

Because he hasn't really had anyone good to work with on his team. He almost won Art Ross 2-3 years ago before Benn beat him on the last day. How is he supposed to lead his team anywhere or win individual trophies when hes got guys like Grabner and Kulemin on his team.

 

[hotpaws]

Because he hasn't really had anyone good to work with on his team. He almost won Art Ross 2-3 years ago before Benn beat him on the last day. How is he supposed to lead his team anywhere or win individual trophies when hes got guys like Grabner and Kulemin on his team.

yea he almost won an Art Ross once in a a very low scoring race , he's the most overhyped player in the league and has been dining out on what he did as a 16 year old for a decade

very good offensive player but he'll be 28 and at the tail end of his prime by the time his new deal kicks in , i have zero desire and we have little need for 10m dollar (give or take) 2nd line center who's mediocre/weak defensively and who's always been used to the entire team catering to padding his stats

we need a stud D so if we're going to dream about signing a big name ufa that guy should be Doughty who's contract is up a year later

 

[LeafSteel]

Love Tavares, and a better fit for us than Stamkos ever was, but this isn't happening.

Tavares will stay in New York. This is Matthews and Marners team.

Having said that, Marner on Tavares wing? Damn.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I don't think there is a good fit for him and his likely contract on Toronto.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I think signing him long term would wind up costing us either Matthews, Marner, Nylander or the ability to sign some UFA D to make a run at the cup in a few years from now.

 

[torontosports10]

For me, if we can sign him, then you do it.

He is an asset that only costs us cap space. We can then trade other assets that we have to fill in our voids on the roster/draft picks because they will be key with us being close to the cap/young talent.

 

[swint]

sign him and immediately trade him for one of the best defensemen in the league, would be the logical solution here

 

[Northern Dancer]

sign him and immediately trade him for one of the best defensemen in the league, would be the logical solution here

Not very much logic when he will be signing a NMC somewhere.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I don't think Tavares is going anywhere: he'd rather be king of his own country, then queen of another.

Tavares isn't a me type of guy. He just wants to win, I've heard this from multiple people who know him. He's a very dedicated player as well as loyal. He took a huge discount to stay with the Islanders.

 

[hotpaws]

Tavares isn't a me type of guy. He just wants to win, I've heard this from multiple people who know him. He's a very dedicated player as well as loyal. He took a huge discount to stay with the Islanders.

he didn't a huge discount , he signed a fair deal at that stage of his career and took the security the term offered him

everyone wants to win but his first priority is padding his stats , if he's in a bit of slump he'll drag his shifts and cheat even more than he usually does defensively

 

[Sniper99]

Any top dman about to become a UFA soon in the next year or so? Id rather go get a big name dman then Tavares. I'd obviously be happy if we did sign Tavares but our D could use a big upgrade.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

sign him and immediately trade him for one of the best defensemen in the league, would be the logical solution here

I think by definition a just-signed UFA who probably took best term and dollar is of no trade value. If he did give Toronto a discount, no way he would do so without a NMC

 

[BertCorbeau]

Any top dman about to become a UFA soon in the next year or so? Id rather go get a big name dman then Tavares. I'd obviously be happy if we did sign Tavares but our D could use a big upgrade.

Pending d-men UFA's at the same time as Tavares:

M-E Vlasic
John Carlson
Cam Fowler
Jack Johnson
Toby Entrom
Mike Green
Zdeno Chara (probably retires)