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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Signing John Tavares

ByMike Stephens|
TORONTO, ON - JULY 1 -(L-R) John Tavares and general manager Kyle Dubas smile during the press conference.The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed John Tavares for seven years, $77 million. July 1, 2018. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JULY 1 -(L-R) John Tavares and general manager Kyle Dubas smile during the press conference.The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed John Tavares for seven years, $77 million. July 1, 2018. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – JULY 1: The jersey of John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, hangs in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ dressing room, after Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, at the Scotiabank Arena on July 1, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – JULY 1: The jersey of John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, hangs in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ dressing room, after Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, at the Scotiabank Arena on July 1, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

D.J. Llewellyn

Yes. Signing Tavares makes the Leafs a contender.

Other teams have done more with less. The Leafs now having a 1,2,3 of Matthews, Tavares and Kadri down the middle is a game changer. It’s a complete nightmare for the opposing team’s defence and it’s shaping up to be so much fun to watch.

Think about it. We now have a 40 goal scorer to pair with two 30 goal scorers down the middle. One thing to keep in mind is that Tavares has been a point-per-game player on Long Island facing the opposing teams top defence pairs. Here, that won’t always be the case.

He also did this with lesser wingers than the ones he’s set to play with as a Leaf. Toronto finished with the 6th best record in the league last season. The Leafs scored in buckets and had solid goaltending. They broke records in team wins and points in a season. They did that with Polak on the blue line and Bozak and JVR watching other players play defence. Not to mention, they did that while Nylander, Marner and Matthews were still going through some growing pains in their sophomore years.

None of that is an issue anymore.

Now they have Tavares. You don’t need Vegas odds to be giddy. The Leafs are a contender alright. And, if they shore up the right side of the defence, watching hockey in June will be a very real possibility.

I. CAN’T. WAIT.

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