John Tavares
Time sure flies when it felt like it was just yesterday that the Leafs brought home John Tavares in free agency to boost the team’s chances of fulfilling their Stanley Cup dreams. Now already into his last season of the seven-year contract that he signed back during the 2018 offseason, the Maple Leafs unfortunately have yet to reach the Holy Grail.
Since joining the Leafs, Tavares has always been a point-per-game player that he has been throughout the majority of his 15-year NHL career and counting.
However, last season marked the first time in over 13 years that he was scoring at a lower than 0.82 ppg pace. More significantly, Tavares was almost became a non-factor during the 2024 playoffs, registering just one goal and one assist for two points over the seven-game series against the Bruins.
Now at 34 years old, Tavares isn’t getting any younger as his foot speed will eventually catch up to him, given that he wasn’t already that fast to begin with. Added to the fact that his flanks appear to be primarily Max Domi and William Nylander this season, the defense for the line could become a worrisome matter as the season progresses as they could potentially find themselves having trouble getting out of the defensive zone.
As a result, the offensive production of Tavares for the 2024-25 season will likely come primarily from his power play time and therefore, could end up being severely limited compared to his usual standards.
So far in two games this season, he has posted just a 43 CF% in 5-on-5 situations, which is substantially lower than his usual 51-53 CF% in previous years. With his overall effectiveness due for another regression in 2024-25, this could be the last season that we see Tavares in a Leafs uniform.