John Tavares' struggles as a Maple Leaf signal time for change per insider
NHL insider Pierre McGuire recently shared his thoughts as to what the team should do with John Tavares next season.
Unfortunately, father time is undefeated. We started to see this with Tavares' play last season, especially in the second half. He scored 29 goals and had just 65 points in 80 games, his second lowest total since joining the Leafs, only ahead of the shortened 2020 and 2021 seasons.
It was also his lowest point-per-game pace since joining the Leafs. As such, it may be time to give him a reduced role with the club, which is exactly what McGuire is suggesting.
While McGuire makes a compelling argument, not all Leafs fans agree. Many are concerned about the team's cap situation, noting that they would have to get a 2nd line center in this case.
Can they afford that? probably not. They do have Max Domi, who stepped into that role at times last season, but can they rely on him to play that role for an entire 82 game season?
Furthermore, some fans pointed to McGuires past as a reason why we should not really trust him.
One fan in particular pointed to him hammering the table at the draft for Tyler Boucher when he was with the Ottawa Senators.
Boucher was a way off the board pick at 10th overall, and since then, he has not developed particularly well, putting up just 5 points in 21 AHL games last season.
So that begs the question, does McGuire really know what he's talking about? Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't.
Source: Sportskeeda.com
Former NHL executive suggests John Tavares could achieve greater glory by giving up his role in Maple Leafs
| POLL | ||
Do you think John Tavares should play in a third line role for the Toronto Maple Leafs next season? | ||
| Yes | 343 | 79.4 % |
| No | 89 | 20.6 % |
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