Tavares Discussion Thread
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LeafsNation75
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This is almost like the talk about Manrer in his 2nd season when he was struggling and we know he eventually played a lot better.
Stephen
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- Feb 28, 2002
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Actually, the Islanders crappiness has been overstated. They were a 100 point team in '15 and '16.
Stephen
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Problem is a few bad games has put us in a position where we could very well miss the playoffs. At his salary there is no margin of error.
LeafsNation75
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Could Tavares have played better the past few games other than their win against New Jersey when he had a goal and 2 assists, obviously the answer is yes. However you can say that about every other player on the team.
LeafsNation75
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So I guess Tavares should have got a lot of the credit for that, especially in 2016 because I believe he was the main reason for them advancing to the 2nd round.
Stephen
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Making the second round is an extremely modest accomplishment in the NHL. Probably shouldn't be bragging too much about taking credit for that.
LeafsNation75
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Since the Islanders fans basically treated last season as their Stanley Cup because they did better in the playoffs than Toronto, it looked like that's what they were doing. However in the end they still only won 1 more total playoff game than Toronto since they were swept by Carolina. In 2016 when they made the 2nd round with Tavares they managed to win 1 game against Tampa Bay before losing that series 4-1.
Nithoniniel
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My guess is that the losing streak has caused people to look for scapegoats, the higher up in the hierarchy the better.
Sweet Leaf
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I think a lot of the fans who were pining for Matthews to become captain are still out there and waiting to bash JT whenever the opportunity arises.
It's more obvious than ever that JT was the right pick for captain and the guys who hate that are just being silly imo. If it wasn't JT I don't think it would be Matthews anyway. I don't even know if Matty wants it. In fact, I tend to doubt he wanted it. I think Matty is a free spirited guy who likes having fun. Reilly would have made a lot more sense.
It's more obvious than ever that JT was the right pick for captain and the guys who hate that are just being silly imo. If it wasn't JT I don't think it would be Matthews anyway. I don't even know if Matty wants it. In fact, I tend to doubt he wanted it. I think Matty is a free spirited guy who likes having fun. Reilly would have made a lot more sense.
leeroggy
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- Jan 3, 2010
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We Islander fans tried to warn you about that.
Two things you can see from him if you watch him off the puck in his defensive zone. He's slow to recognize danger (caught looking at the puck way too much) and his gap coverage is horrible. There are times he will be 10 feet away from his coverage, and when that guy gets the puck he will freeze in place instead of narrow the gap. That was a constant issue with us.
LeafsNation75
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Your fan base was also so desperate for Tavares to re-sign and only started with this negative talk about him once he left.
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1specter
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- Sep 27, 2016
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It's a joke tbh. Not to mention that a big FA actually came home like fans have always dreamed of and it wasn't just delusion for once. Do I want more from him? For sure, but I think people are trying to paint him as washed which I think is just inaccurate. This has been a very weird/challenging season in a lot of ways, with the coaching drama, lots of injuries, poor goaltending etc etc. He's been way better under Keefe than he has under Babcock too, despite looking like he's still dealing with that hand injury.
I think he deserves some more rope, especially considering that when Marner went cold in February last year it was Tavares who kept driving that line the rest of the way, and it was Tavares who never went more than 2 games in a row without a point last season.
LeafsNation75
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I wonder if Tavares would be getting this type of criticism if he wasn't putting up the goals compared to last season, but the Leafs were on a winning streak and still in a playoff position?
LeafsNation75
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Nithoniniel
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It feels like this bad stretch has everyone running around examining everything about our team in the most critical way possible. I have been a rather vocal critic of Tavares through this stretch. I don't even think he's been the best player on his line. However, everybody has bad stretches. Our offense overall has continued to be dominant, our defense has continued to be a weakness but not nearly as bad as some would have it, and Tavares will be fine. More than fine, he'll be back to a 90 point center with strong play-driving capabilities soon enough.
If Andersen played at league average level, we'd be cruising. That's the sole serious issue with this team. It's somehow like people just now realize that we give up a lot of odd man rushes just because Andersen is no longer stopping them at a frequency that, to be quite frank, an NHL starter should. He even struggles with routine saves right now.
I know that might sound like scapegoating, but the numbers support it. We're actually improving when it comes to stopping shots from dangerous areas, while his save percentage has dropped like a rock. And honestly, you can see it in his work. There's seemingly always net to shoot at nowadays, he's consistently off his angles. He keeps second guessing his game, like when he started to lift his leg for a push to the far post on the wrap around by Toews. There was nothing really there, it's the d-man's job to cover it, and he needs to focus on the first shot first, but he got frantic and opened himself up instead of making a routine save.
We need to acknowledge that Andersen is struggling, while still appreciating what he can bring to this team, and has done before. He's an actual problem. Tavares isn't.
If Andersen played at league average level, we'd be cruising. That's the sole serious issue with this team. It's somehow like people just now realize that we give up a lot of odd man rushes just because Andersen is no longer stopping them at a frequency that, to be quite frank, an NHL starter should. He even struggles with routine saves right now.
I know that might sound like scapegoating, but the numbers support it. We're actually improving when it comes to stopping shots from dangerous areas, while his save percentage has dropped like a rock. And honestly, you can see it in his work. There's seemingly always net to shoot at nowadays, he's consistently off his angles. He keeps second guessing his game, like when he started to lift his leg for a push to the far post on the wrap around by Toews. There was nothing really there, it's the d-man's job to cover it, and he needs to focus on the first shot first, but he got frantic and opened himself up instead of making a routine save.
We need to acknowledge that Andersen is struggling, while still appreciating what he can bring to this team, and has done before. He's an actual problem. Tavares isn't.
He'd still be on pace for 35 goals and 80 points had he played every game this season.
If he gets on any kind of a heater down the stretch he could easily get back to a 40/90 pace as the 2nd line center on the team. Even with his hand taped together half the year.
I'm not exactly sure what people want. Until Matthews likely does it this year, only 2 centers have put up 80 points as a Leaf in the last 20 years (Tavares/Sundin) and he's on pace to do it in each of his first 2 seasons despite Babcock almost never playing all of our best players together.
If he gets on any kind of a heater down the stretch he could easily get back to a 40/90 pace as the 2nd line center on the team. Even with his hand taped together half the year.
I'm not exactly sure what people want. Until Matthews likely does it this year, only 2 centers have put up 80 points as a Leaf in the last 20 years (Tavares/Sundin) and he's on pace to do it in each of his first 2 seasons despite Babcock almost never playing all of our best players together.
Newsworthy
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This isn't true at all. I'm an Islander fan and this poster does not speak for all of us.
LeafsNation75
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At least there is some Islanders fans out there who can be civil when talking about Tavares.
LeafsNation75
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If you asked me before the season if Tavares ended up 35 goals and 80 points I would take it. Those expecting 47 goals or more based on last season would be in for disappointment.
Would you take minus 7 half way through the year when everyone else on the team is a plus player ?
LeafsNation75
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The plus/minus stat is one of the worst stats to use when evaluating any player.
unitedstars87
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LeafsNation75
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I sure hope we see that and the fact he didn't have to play in the All Star Game must have been a relief for him.
LeafsNation75
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I just heard Jeff O'Neill on the pregame show say how Tavares numbers are still consistent despite not being the same compared to last season. So those who are freaking out at his stats should keep that in mind.
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