4. John Tavares will be the Toronto Maple Leafs leading point producer
Captain John Tavares has played three seasons with the Leafs. In that time, there is one thing he has been unable to achieve, be the club’s leading point producer. That’s not to say that Tavares hasn’t been productive in Toronto. He has been.
In 2018-19, Tavares was second on the Leafs in scoring. He had 88 points on 47 goals and 41 assists. It was his best season in the NHL, beating out his previous record of 86 points while with the New York Islanders in 2014-15. However, in Tavares’s first year in Toronto, Mitch Marner caught fire and accumulated an impressive 94 points on 26 goals and 68 assists. That was by far Marner’s best season. His second-best total was 69 points, which came just one season prior.
In 2019-20 Marner outscored Tavares again but this time, so did Matthews. Tavares had 60 points, while Matthews had 80 and Marner 67. Last season was the same result. Tavares finished third in points on the Leafs. This time he had 50 compared to Marner’s 67 and Matthews’ 66.
Next season, Tavares will have something to prove. He will show fans that the reason that the Leafs were bounced from the playoffs was because he was unable to participate.
Coming into the season hungry and leading by example, the captain will finally break through as the franchise’s leading point-getter next season. What makes this prediction that much more bold is that it will happen in the same season that his teammate scores 50 goals.