The Leafs need to get John Tavares going this year and there's one sure-fire way to do just that
As one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' highest paid players, expectations remain high for John Tavares. Since Toronto will continue to pay the high price for his salary, they'll want to make sure they can get as much of out him as possible.
Switching up the lines is often one of the most effective ways to enable a player to reach his maximum potential, and this may also be the case here. Basically, Tavares had his best season when he played with Marner on his wing, so perhaps the Leafs would be better served to put Tavares and Marner together again to maximize their captain's effectiveness and offensive contributions.
When the Leafs signed Tavares back in 2018 to a seven-year contract worth $77-million, the projected line up involved him playing on the top line with Marner on his right wing. Both players enjoyed career years that year, with Marner only just topping his career best 94 points this year, finally, with 97 points.
Of course as time passed, it became clear that Matthews had to be a priority as Toronto's first line pivot, and most recently the Bunting - Matthews - Marner line has been a powerhouse in the NHL. However, it may be time for the Leafs to change up their lines a little more next season in order to generate the best output possible from all of their highest paid players.
With 47 goals and 41 assists totalling 88 points, combined with an overall plus-minus of 19, the 2018-19 season was a career best for JT. In his time in the NHL, all the way back from 2009 until present day, this was the peak for Tavares' stats. If the Leafs want $11M in value out of Tavares, they may have to set him up for that type of success - and let's be honest, it's not as though Matthews and William Nylander don't have any chemistry of their own.
Nylander could be given the opportunity to play alongside Matthews and Bunting, while Marner takes a shot being placed on the wing of Tavares on the second line with either Alexander Kerfoot (if he remains with the club this summer) or a young Nick Robertson, possesses a rocket of a shot and could use a good setup man. With 80 points in 81 games, Nylander is certainly capable of playing on the top line on paper, though the reality in hockey is that sometimes chemistry on the lines is more important than statistics and numbers. Nylander's defensive impacts could be an issue that is too big too ignore when matching up against a higher quality of competition.
Nevertheless, line changes are reversible, so there's virtually no risk in trying things out, and if placing Marner on the wing of JT didn't work out as it did in previous years, then very limited damage will have occurred as a result of testing it out again. The Leafs are looking for a Cup run, and they need every player on the roster to be playing at their best. This could be the answer to improving John Tavares' game again. It's certainly worth a look.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 25 | 1060 ANSWERS The Leafs need to get John Tavares going this year and there's one sure-fire way to do just that Should the Leafs re-unite Tavares and Marner this year? | ||
| 100% | 319 | 30.1 % |
| Breaking up 16 and 34 would be a mistake | 450 | 42.5 % |
| They just need Nylander to be consistent | 291 | 27.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
