John Tavares' struggles as a Maple Leaf signal time for change per insider

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Graham Montgomery
July 19, 2024 (9:14)

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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.

"When we got him, Trottier wasn't going to play ahead of Mario Lemieux or eventually Ron Francis. So, he goes in the three-hole. ... It worked, and he became the Pied Piper for the team. I believe John Tavares could be similar. If you move him to the three-hole and create the proper role for him, I think he could be an elite player in that position. Forget what he makes. Don't pay attention to the money. Just play him in the three-hole, and you watch how important he is to the team."

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?

How much are you going to have to pay a centreman, a very good 2nd line centre that is better than JT? And where are we, the Leafs, going to find this money?

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.

McGuire also pushed hard for the Senators to draft Tyler Boucher 10th overall in the 2021 draft (after just playing a mere 29 games over the prior two seasons with the US Development Team where he had total of just 7 goals and 9 assists). I wouldn't take tips from this guy.

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