Tavares Worst Captain Ever

[Riseonfire]

The man looks broken

Probably from regretting the choice he made. Lost a chance at two cups, and ruined his reputation with two fan bases.

Who still likes JT at this point?

 

[WarriorofTime]

2 points in 7 games in a Game 7 OT series lost. lol. But they "had" to sign him.. he even gave them a "discount", lol

 

[Osakahaus]

I still hold it that moving on from JT was a move that benefitted the islanders long term. if he stayed, the regression would've been awful here. JT is not the same player he was in 2018. He looks awful now and has become a cardio skater. Congrats on those points records but he feels so shallow as a player. Toronto overpaid him greatly.

 

[CupsOverCash]

The Leafs already had Marner, Nylander, Matthews and Kadri in tow as the 2C with Reilly anchoring the back end. Why the hell do you need Tavares with that lineup? That $11 million could've gone to another defender or goaltender who could make a save. It was the stupidest possible thing Dubas could have done aside from not blowing up that team YEARS ago

Cause he wore leaf pj's?

 

[atreyuavenged]

Don't think he ever fit there style.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

One of the most overrated players in league history. He never deserved the accolades he got to date. And now his game has fallen off sharply. Painful to watch him skate given that he was never a great skater.

 

[Osakahaus]

One of the most overrated players in league history. He never deserved the accolades he got to date. And now his game has fallen off sharply. Painful to watch him skate given that he was never a great skater.

He was always a talented player, but he fell apart after Perry injured him. That was the death blow. Tavares was "wasted" if you want to say so, but comparing Barzal to JT, I have to say that Barzal is the more dynamic player than JT.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Still can't believe the hype that Tavares got when he was drafted 1st overall. He's pretty much a less skilled Joe Thornton, who just can't get it done in the playoffs.

 

[SI90]

It’s funny how life works. The dream of playing for your hometown team is obviously a strong force. Now, he’ll just be a hometown kid who captained an underwhelming leafs team that constantly came up short of their expectations. He’s playing with arguably the next great scorer of this generation.

Had he stayed on Long Island, he would have no doubt been immortalized. He never got to play for Barry Trotz isles but I have to believe the team would have had similar success with Tavares. He would have had his number retired and a damn statue at UBS.

Not saying he made the wrong decision because he went home and that’s what made him happy but it’s interesting how things turned out.

Now, he’s not welcome back to Long Island even as a former player alumni, and Leafs fans will show him love but they’ll always remember him for not being able to lead the team out of the darkness.

 

[Osakahaus]

It’s funny how life works. The dream of playing for your hometown team is obviously a strong force. Now, he’ll just be a hometown kid who captained an underwhelming leafs team that constantly came up short of their expectations. He’s playing with arguably the next great scorer of this generation.

Had he stayed on Long Island, he would have no doubt been immortalized. He never got to play for Barry Trotz isles but I have to believe the team would have had similar success with Tavares. He would have had his number retired and a damn statue at UBS.

Not saying he made the wrong decision because he went home and that’s what made him happy but it’s interesting how things turned out.

Now, he’s not welcome back to Long Island even as a former player alumni, and Leafs fans will show him love but they’ll always remember him for not being able to lead the team out of the darkness.

Staying on LI probably means no Lee staying and losing out on depth. I think he would've hurt the team had he stayed. There also were other ramifications as well. Personally speaking, Tavares would've been seen in the same light as the dynasty players at the pace he was playing at. Once he left for Toronto, everything got sapped away. Sure he was robotic as ever on LI, but think of it this way

Tavares, with better players and a hometown crowd, has gone the exact same distance with Toronto, as he did with an islanders squad who only made the playoffs three times under his tenure, with his best winger being Josh Bailey, in 3 more years.

The Leafs should be embarrassed man.

 

[afcleafs]

It’s funny how life works. The dream of playing for your hometown team is obviously a strong force. Now, he’ll just be a hometown kid who captained an underwhelming leafs team that constantly came up short of their expectations. He’s playing with arguably the next great scorer of this generation.

Had he stayed on Long Island, he would have no doubt been immortalized. He never got to play for Barry Trotz isles but I have to believe the team would have had similar success with Tavares. He would have had his number retired and a damn statue at UBS.

Not saying he made the wrong decision because he went home and that’s what made him happy but it’s interesting how things turned out.

This is all possibly true and logical, but it doesn't change the fact that Tavares isn't talented enough to ever earn those accolades.

I remember the exact moment and time when early on during Tavares first season with Toronto, my friend group of Leaf fans all looked at each other and went, wait... This is John Tavares? Even in his 50 goal season, his ability to drive a line or impact the game outside of a 5 foot radius around the crease, was just never there. Marner was so electric those years and he benefitted greatly from it.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, he did a really good job of pumping up his image around the league as a premier player, because when you look behind the highlight reel, this guy is really not someone who's going to propel your team forward. He's a bystander on ever single Leafs team.

The idea that he ruined his NHL legacy by going home is a bit dramatic. He went home to raise a family around his family, he put himself first.

 

[TooManyHumans]

At least they have the leadership of Matthews and Marner to fall back on.

 

[WarriorofTime]

This is all possibly true and logical, but it doesn't change the fact that Tavares isn't talented enough to ever earn those accolades.

I remember the exact moment and time when early on during Tavares first season with Toronto, my friend group of Leaf fans all looked at each other and went, wait... This is John Tavares? Even in his 50 goal season, his ability to drive a line or impact the game outside of a 5 foot radius around the crease, was just never there. Marner was so electric those years and he benefitted greatly from it.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, he did a really good job of pumping up his image around the league as a premier player, because when you look behind the highlight reel, this guy is really not someone who's going to propel your team forward. He's a bystander on ever single Leafs team.

The idea that he ruined his NHL legacy by going home is a bit dramatic. He went home to raise a family around his family, he put himself first.

His best attribute was being consistent and getting around PPG at a time when league scoring was super low. His best point finishes were 7th with 81 points and then 2nd with 86 points. When league scoring shot up, his points didn't shoot up with it and he stayed at around the same. He also benefits a bit from being a very hyped 1st overall pick that wasn't a bust, which gives you a good residual reputation.

 

[Ace]

 

[These Are The Days]

Cause he wore leaf pj's?

That's exactly it hoss. It's not that I don't understand why JT and the Leafs married. But the whole thing was like having ketchup and then saying "I could put ketchup on this!" and for Leafs management to lose sight of the Stanley Cup so the hometown son could play for his childhood team at an $11 million clip is inexcusable. You could've had Matthews for like $8.75 million after his rookie deal but instead the Leafs chose a method that then artificially inflated the rear of their contracts and then the flat cap showed up


Just so damn stupid

 

[bobber]

Leafs are in hockey hell and the fans are the devil. No other fan base hates their players as much as they do in Toronto. Tavares should of known you can't play in your home town. One of the worse media's in all of sports.

 

[CupsOverCash]

That's exactly it hoss. It's not that I don't understand why JT and the Leafs married. But the whole thing was like having ketchup and then saying "I could put ketchup on this!" and for Leafs management to lose sight of the Stanley Cup so the hometown son could play for his childhood team at an $11 million clip is inexcusable. You could've had Matthews for like $8.75 million after his rookie deal but instead the Leafs chose a method that then artificially inflated the rear of their contracts and then the flat cap showed up


Just so damn stupid

They were so focused on getting stamkos back there for years. They're pretty obsessed with having that home grown talent there. Not a recipe I'd go with since theres players from all over the globe. I get it though if you win it with him as your captain wow is that cool. You might be limiting yourself possibly there but it is cool.

But they really didn't need him. They already were stacked offensively like you said and I remember a lot of people saying defense it was pretty simple. I think there's a thing with "hype" and a hockey mecca can easily get sucked right into it. It happens in a lot of different things not just hockey. There's a lot of people who get lost in hype and it's shiny I get it. But we have to evolve past that if humanity has hope..

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The decision to go with Tavares over quality depth is going to be one of the great Leaf what-ifs.

They had their elite young core and a deep complementary core back in 2018, plus it wasn't like leadership was a need when they were already paying Marleau 6mil to be that guy.


Instead, the 2 centres the Tavares signing helped kicked out the door went on to be key contributors on Cup winners. Plus his signing completely threw off the Leafs pay structure, where Matthews and Marner were able to point to the fact they outproduced the Leafs new 11mil guy to get inflated contracts.

That cap crunch also put massive pressure on their ability to keep quality depth on wing around: JVR, Hyman, Brown, Kap, Johnsson, Komarov, Mikheyev, and Engvall is a ton of quality homegrown (more or less) depth to bleed out over the course of a few seasons.

 

[2ndGenIslander]

I’ll never forget the crap Toronto fans poured on isles fans when he signed there. The beautiful irony was the success the Isles saw immediately after his departure could not be overlooked. Then he ended up being the signing that broke the momentum Toronto had going with their young core group.

They got what they deserved over the duration of his contract there. But I do think once his contract is up, Toronto will become a more successful team, without a doubt

 

[Hotep Numminen]

isles fans should be embarrassed about having been so invested in him. everything now is also proof of how stupid they were then.

 

[benedictTavares]

isles fans should be embarrassed about having been so invested in him. everything now is also proof of how stupid they were then.

Most of us are more mad about how he left. No one knows the real story but when rumors came out that he begged not to be traded at the deadline it set us all off.

Looking back out of thee outcomes ranked in order of best:
1. He gets traded at TDL. We get assets.
2. He leaves and does not saddle us with terrible contract.
3. He signs for max and we lose depth.

Obviously looking back we all would agree (1) would be best but (2) not the worst outcome. Looking back im not sure he would have fit trotz system. At least our PP would have been better LOL.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The decision to go with Tavares over quality depth is going to be one of the great Leaf what-ifs.

They had their elite young core and a deep complementary core back in 2018, plus it wasn't like leadership was a need when they were already paying Marleau 6mil to be that guy.


Instead, the 2 centres the Tavares signing helped kicked out the door went on to be key contributors on Cup winners. Plus his signing completely threw off the Leafs pay structure, where Matthews and Marner were able to point to the fact they outproduced the Leafs new 11mil guy to get inflated contracts.

That cap crunch also put massive pressure on their ability to keep quality depth on wing around: JVR, Hyman, Brown, Kap, Johnsson, Komarov, Mikheyev, and Engvall is a ton of quality homegrown (more or less) depth to bleed out over the course of a few seasons.

I said it at the time, but the issue with paying someone that much and allocating so much of the cap to one player and forcing sacrifices elsewhere, is that player better be an impact player who can take over games/series. Tavares was not that.

Said this a million times but the Leafs paid for and thought they were getting a guy like Nathan MacKinnon, but instead paid through the roof and ruined their cap structure to land Mark Scheifele.

 

[TS Quint]

The Leafs leadership overall is awful. It's why O'Reilly left.

It's them AKA the big contracts and then it's everyone else for themselves. Keefe call out the big money and they go to the media and blame Keefe and take zero responsibility. When Keefe calls out the bottom 6 it's crickets from the "leadership group". They just take the pass.

When you accept that much money you should also be accepting the responsibility that comes with it. They don't. They just take the pass management gives them.

Their contracts should be for what they produce as well as elevating other lesser players. Who are these lesser players they have elevated? Bobby McMahon....end of list.

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

I’ll never forget the crap Toronto fans poured on isles fans when he signed there. The beautiful irony was the success the Isles saw immediately after his departure could not be overlooked. Then he ended up being the signing that broke the momentum Toronto had going with their young core group.

They got what they deserved over the duration of his contract there. But I do think once his contract is up, Toronto will become a more successful team, without a doubt

Remember how Toronto fans said it was deserved since the Isles only won one playoff series with him?

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

Most of us are more mad about how he left. No one knows the real story but when rumors came out that he begged not to be traded at the deadline it set us all off.

Looking back out of thee outcomes ranked in order of best:
1. He gets traded at TDL. We get assets.
2. He leaves and does not saddle us with terrible contract.
3. He signs for max and we lose depth.

Obviously looking back we all would agree (1) would be best but (2) not the worst outcome. Looking back im not sure he would have fit trotz system. At least our PP would have been better LOL.

Had he re-signed here, yeah, we probably wouldn't be happy with the 2024 version of JT as he isn't a great player anymore.

But I would have been fine with it because it would have given us two shots at beating Tampa with a still prime JT. I think we could have beaten them at least once considering we took them to 6- and 7-games without him.