John Tavares Reacts to Watching Leafs Teammates at 4 Nations Face-Off After Team Canada Snub
Maple Leafs forward John Tavares was back in practice on Tuesday and relayed his thoughts watching his teammates play in the 4 Nations after he wasn't selected.
With the 4 Nations Face-Off Finals taking place on Thursday between Team Canada and Team USA, John Tavares will be watching as teammates Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner go head to head for hockey supremacy.
But after being snubbed from the competition, the former Maple Leafs captain is taking it all in stride, and enjoyed watching his teammates; even if made him a bit envious:
It's certainly going to be a barnburner, but it leads us to question: Should Tavares have been included? Let's take a look.
John Tavares Deserved To Be In 4 Nations Face-Off On Team Canada
It was a bit of a surprise when Tavares was left out, though he joined a contingent of Canadians who didn't make the cut.
But he definitely deserved to be there. While he may have had a slower offensive push than some other members of the team, his experience speaks for itself.
Five gold medals in five best-on-best competitions while representing Canada including a 2014 Olympic gold medal. He has been a part of some big teams, and his experience is invaluable.
Would Tavares have offered a better deterrent to the American team during Canada's loss? Potentially, but it's impossible to know.
While he is 34 years old, Tavares is still contributing at a more than respectable level.
In 48 games this season, Tavares has 21 goals and 24 assists (45 points) while also winning 57.2% of his face-offs while averaging 18:19 TOI.
For his international career (not including World Juniors) he has 40 points in 41 games (19 goals, 21 assists) which considering how rare these events are is a testament to his talent.
His teammates however in the 4 Nations haven't fared the best. Matthews has one assist through two games, and Marner has one goal in three games.
Though Tavares has to stick around in Toronto while Marner and Matthews have their epic showdown in Boston, he'll be glued to the game much like every other hockey fan in North America.
Thursday's clash between Team USA and Team Canada takes place at the TD Garden in Boston. The scheduled start time is 8PM ET.
