John Tavares Appears to be Sliding Down the Depth Chart for the Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs will open their pre-season tonight against the Ottawa Senators with John Tavares starting in an unusual spot in the lineup.
After handing over the captaincy to Auston Matthews at the end of August, which signified a changing of the guard and the start of a new era for the franchise, Tavares found himself being slotted down lower in the lineup.
Entering training camp, it was all but confirmed by Leafs' head coach Craig Berube as he stated that William Nylander would begin training camp at center, with Nylander himself confirming that it would not be a short trial run and that he'd get a real look at the position.
Based on who took the morning skate, Tavares is set to debut this season on the Leafs' third line. Through the first couple of days of training camp, Tavares was skating with Bobby McMann and Nicholas Robertson, but appears set to center Max Pacioretty and Nikita Grebenkin for tonight's game.
While Tavares starts on the third line, his position will depend on how quickly and efficiently Nylander is able to adjust to playing center on the second line being flanked by Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok. Depending on that, we could see Tavares shuffled back up the lineup further along in training camp.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 950 ANSWERS John Tavares Appears to be Sliding Down the Depth Chart for the Maple Leafs Will Tavares play the whole season as the Leafs' third-line center? | ||
| Yes, probably beat at this stage of his career | 353 | 37.2 % |
| No, he's still a top-6 forward | 399 | 42 % |
| Depends on injuries | 198 | 20.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
