Toronto Maple Leafs John Tavares Needs To Do Less

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 25: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the second period of the a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on March 25, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 25: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the second period of the a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on March 25, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)

It was July 1, 2018 when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed John Tavares to the biggest contract in team history after the deal came in at seven years for $77 Million.  An annual average salary of $11 Million per year and reports surfaced that Tavares left $14 Million on the table when he chose Toronto over San Jose.

After the signing, some believed that the back end of the contract would be detrimental to the Toronto Maple Leafs as they were signing a soon to be 28-year old to a seven year deal.

Tavares is already finishing up year five of that deal and has topped 30-goals for the second time during the contract and the sixth time in his 14 year career.

His 33-goals this year is already tied for his fourth highest over his time in the NHL and sits just four and five goals shy of his two highest outputs he ever had with the New York Islanders.

Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Remarkably Consistent

During the first five years of deal, the regular season was shut down early once because of COVID, followed by a shortened season the year after.  These unusual circumstances took away what would have been at least one additional 30-goal season from Tavares career.

If you average Tavares’s Maple Leafs tenure over an 82-game season Tavares has a rate of just over 35-goals and nearly 81-points, which the production numbers show that he can be consistent.

Through nearly five of his seven years with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, Tavares has been a valuable piece to the organization and the captain is in the ballpark of earning the controversial salary he has made.

However, as of late the now 32-year old has seen a drop in his game.  Since the beginning of March, Tavares production has been good as he has collected 15 points in 15 games, however has just one even strength goal in that span.

Watching Tavares of late, he has stopped working towards the best part of his game which is getting the puck down behind the icing line and using his strength.

Rather, the veteran center is attempting use his first step to beat defenders, which is likely his biggest weakness.  Saturday night, the Maple Leafs had one power play in the game and on three occasions the team had to retrieve pucks that Tavares had lost when he was unable to move the puck and one occasion he tried to beat three defenders.

Tavares leads the team with 16 power play goals and the vast majority have come from standing in front of the net.

If Tavares can let the more skilled players control the puck with him going into the slot and causing traffic in front of the net, both he and the team will have a lot more success.

This was displayed when he scored his power play goal off a deflection on Sunday night.  When he is playing at even strength, he needs to have quick touch passes and lean on his winger, whether it be Marner or Nylander to create the plays.  Too many times of late he attempts to muscle off a forechecker and carry the puck out of the zone, which tends to cause a turnover.

Going into the final weeks of year five of his seven year deal, Tavares still has one of the best releases in the game and behind the net he is near impossible to get that puck from.  The Leafs captain needs to understand his strengths and work towards them.