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Toronto Maple Leafs Win Either Way with John Tavares Decision

By James Tanner

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 19: John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders celebrates a second-period goal by teammate Anders Lee #27 (not pictured) against Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild at Barclays Center on February 19, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 19: John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders celebrates a second-period goal by teammate Anders Lee #27 (not pictured) against Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild at Barclays Center on February 19, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are known to have met with and made an offer to John Tavares.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of six teams known to be in the running.  Where will Tavares go is the single biggest question in the NHL World right now, and possibly ever.  There were reporters staking out his meetings – a bunch of nerds walking into a building was breaking news!!!

And why not? This is exciting as hell.  The Leafs may add a player that instantly makes them Stanley Cup Favorites and the best team in the NHL.  Maybe they do it, maybe they don’t. (Maybe you already know by the time this article is published). It doesn’t matter – the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a win win situation.

If John Tavares signs with the Leafs, they become the best team in hockey, the owners make a trillion dollars instantly in jersey sales, and increased interest in the team.  Multiple Championships are expected, if not guaranteed.

If the Leafs do not win the Tavares bidding war, they also come out OK too.

Win Even if They Lose

If Tavares goes elsewhere, the Leafs are in fine condition.  Tavares would be found money – a player who would instantly be one of the best to ever wear the blue and white – who didn’t cost anything to acquire.  But if he doesn’t come here, the Leafs still have the best young team in hockey.

They would have crazy cap flexibility.  They would have $30 million to spend for next season.  They would have William Nylander – a player with not un-similar earlier career numbers to Tavares – who could play centre for them next year.

It may actually be the right decision.  We want this to happen because its a short-cut to glory, but Tavares passing on Toronto could end up being one of those things where you got lucky to lose. I want them to get him, but his contract could eventually be a problem, and its just generally risky to give a player a seven year deal when most of those years are in his 30s.

If the Leafs don’t get him, they are still the team that finished with the same points after 82 games as the team that eventually won the Stanley Cup.  They still have Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Kapanen, Johnson, Rielly, Dermot and Liljegren to build around.

I think they’ll be OK.

And so what if we get our hopes up?  It’s often more fun to enjoy the anticipation than the reward anyways.  Hockey is a fun distraction from real life, so I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to hope for the best outcome, and to get their hopes sky high.

Next: Devils Advocate: Why the Leafs Should Pass on Tavares

Mine are. I’ve even convinced my self it’s going to happen.  But if it doesn’t it was fun for a week! The Leafs can get Tavares and we can celebrate.  Or they can lose him and still have a better than good chance to into next season with one of the best rosters in the NHL.

Tavares or not, the Leafs are Cup Contenders, right now.

I’m having fun either way.

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