Toronto Maple Leafs Make the Most Sense For John Tavares

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the best fit for free agent center John Tavares

With John Tavares expected to make a decision on his future any day now, it’s hard to see how the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t make the most sense.

Though the New York Islanders can offer Tavares an extra yer, the Maple Leafs offer a lot to the franchise center he can’t get elsewhere.

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He was born just outside of Toronto. It’s where he spends his summer months. Tavares doesn’t live in New York year-round. He only plays hockey there for the Islanders. A franchise he has carried for years and gotten nowhere due to a lack of talent around him.

With the Maple Leafs, Tavares would join a loaded forward group with a proven top-10 goaltender in the league. He’d form a dynamic duo with Auston Matthews and have the opportunity to have a future Hall of Fame wing in Patrick Marleau, or play with incredible playmakers such as Mitch Marner and William Nylander. All four players mentioned would immediately be better than any player Tavares has skated with in New York, excluding Mathew Barzal.

With the exception of Marleau, the Maple Leafs’ also have a young core that is entering their prime as opposed to other potential suitors rumored to be involved. The San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins are good now but will they be good in three or four years like the Maple Leafs are set up to be? It’s hard to imagine players like Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara will still be playing at the same level in three years as they did this season.

The Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning are also rumored to be involved but would have to significantly subtract from their roster to make Tavares’ contract fit under the salary cap. By the time either team is finished fitting Tavares in, would either team be that much better?

There is no doubt Tavares is better than someone such as Tyler Johnson. But what if it requires moving Johnson and being unable to re-sign Nikita Kucherov? There is also the injury risk that seems to constantly circle Steven Stamkos.

Then there are the Islanders, who in recent weeks have undergone massive changes off the ice but have done nothing to improve their on-ice roster. The additions of Lou Lamoriello as their general manager and Barry Trotz as their coach certainly make the Islanders more appealing.

However, they could also hurt New York’s chances of re-signing Tavares. He doesn’t know either very well, therefore, there is no loyalty there. It’s almost as if he’d be joining a new team altogether given the new faces and rules put in place by Lamoriello.

There is also not much about the Islanders roster that could convince Tavares to stay. New York’s goaltending and defense are by far the worst out of any of the teams rumored to be involved in the Tavares sweepstakes. The only appealing teammate would be Barzal but he’s hardly comparable to Matthews, Bergeron, Stamkos, Tyler Seguin, or Logan Couture. There also aren’t any free agents that could impact the roster greatly or any Islander assets that could fetch a great player via trade.

This isn’t a situation like two years ago where Stamkos flirted with free agency before returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that scenario, Stamkos had a tremendous roster to return to, with plenty of talented prospects in the cupboard. Stamkos had as many as five or six teammates that would easily be the Islanders’ second-best player today. Therefore it’s impossible to compare the two situations.

Ultimately, whatever Tavares decides will have a major impact on the NHL’s offseason but it’s hard not to see how the Maple Leafs make the most sense. He’d join a team with a core roster on the verge of entering their prime. At a time where he can still be the man on the team before transitioning to the sidekick role in the later years of the contract as Matthews takes over with his continued development.

He’d also be able to secure any endorsement deal he’d desire as the hometown kid would return home to massive fan approval. This could help offset the loss of the additional year only the Islanders could offer.

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In the event Tavares should succeed in aiding the Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup, he’d also no doubt have his own statue in legend’s row outside the arena in Toronto. For a Toronto-area born kid, he’d forever be recognized as one of the greatest players ever to play for the Maple Leafs.

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