One writer suggests we have yet to see the best of John Tavares; Can Tavares pull a Stamkos and hit 100 this year?
Going into the 2022-2023 season the pressure is certainly on for the Toronto Maple Leafs and captain John Tavares. With lots of fans questioning the worth of Johnny T due to his $11 million dollar cap hit, one hockey writer suggests we could see Tavares take a big step forward this season which would be huge for the Buds.
Alex Hobson, a regular contributor for The Hockey Writer, sent out a tweet pointing out that at the age of 32, Tampa Bay Lightning captian Steven Stamkos hit the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career. Hobson also suggested that since Tavares is back to full health and is able to take part in regular summer training and a full training camp, he is every bit as capable of accomplishing the same feat.
Tavares, 31, has played some solid hockey for the Leafs and in his first season he hit 88 points which was a career high for him at the time. One key detail to note, since John Tavares arrived in Toronto, 2 of his 4 seasons were COVID-shortened and last season, he was coming off of a concussion and a knee injury suffered in the Leafs' first round matchup against the Habs in a made-up division.
To suggest that Tavares could see a big jump in production this season isn't that bold. If he's already near a point per game every season, there's no reason to think that he can't maintain that same pace this season as well. From there, he's really only a healthy 82-game season and a little bit of puck luck away from getting to that 100-point plateau. And, hey.. even if he doesn't get to 100, another 88-point season would be a nice consolation for Leafs Nation.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 14 | 590 ANSWERS One writer suggests we have yet to see the best of John Tavares; Can Tavares pull a Stamkos and hit 100 this year? What percentage chance do you give John Tavares of hitting 100 points? | ||
| 0%-24% | 252 | 42.7 % |
| 25%-50 | 162 | 27.5 % |
| 51%-75% | 126 | 21.4 % |
| 76%-100% | 50 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
