How are you feeling about Tavares these days?

[All Mod Cons]

I think we should let him gracefully walk off to warmer climates when his deal is up.

 

[Gary Nylund]

The Athletics current rankings for Tavares this year:

Offensive percentile: 90%
Defensive percentile: 80% (Having his best defensive season maybe ever)
Market value: 9 million

The fact he's also a top 10 faceoff guy in the league and still a workhorse (He's averaged the most 5v5 minutes/game of any forward on the team during this win streak) spikes up his value despite the dip in production.

Yeah as I said, I take their rankings with a grain of salt and his production in the playoffs hasn't been there and since I put a lot of emphasis on playoff performance, I deduct points for that. But he's still a very good hockey player, no doubt about it. I love that Keefe finally tried him on the third line, I like the way that line is playing and I hope they all have a big playoffs!

I think we should let him gracefully walk off to warmer climates when his deal is up.

I see no reaon to say that, it all depends on his level of play at the time and what he'd be willing to sign for. Let's say for arguments sake that he's playing at a 6 million dollar level and he'd sign with us for 4 million, saying yes please sign right here would be an easy decision for me.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

I saw the opposite. If he really wanted to score, he could have shot from a distance when he had a clear shot at it but that would have risked an icing call if he missed so instead, he carried the puck into the zone thinking if he scored great, but if not, at least the puck is in their zone and he's killed off a few more seconds.

Now mind you, I was a bit drunk at the time so maybe I'm not remembering it with 100% accuracy. But I will also say that JT is not the kind of person who cares about stat padding so I'm pretty sure you're wrong about this anyway.

Looked to me like he tried to outskate the defender to get closer to the net.

He wanted the sure thing to ice the game. Except he was too slow. So he couldn't beat the defender fully.

He then whiffed on the shot, because he has hands of stone, and turned it over for the rush back up ice.

 

[Stephen]

Looked to me like he tried to outskate the defender to get closer to the net.

He wanted the sure thing to ice the game. Except he was too slow. So he couldn't beat the defender fully.

He then whiffed on the shot, because he has hands of stone, and turned it over for the rush back up ice.

Yeah and he got pretty close to the net, which means there was a duration of time where he had crossed center ice and had eliminated the possibility of an icing. So that was good. Then he kept going to burn the clock, which is good. Then he had his head down and whiffed on the shot while getting muscled, which is not good. Prime example of him getting swarmed and unable to make a play.

 

[Dekes For Days]

It was the smart move and the puck hit a rut in that end of the game bad ice as he was sweeping towards the net. People can get mad at him if they want I guess but why not get after him for a bad play instead of bad luck?

It's funny how nobody thinks maybe we should be looking at the other 4 players that let the puck go the entire length of the ice for a good shot in 5.5 seconds...
Nah, I guess let's blame the guy who skated it out of our end and got it deep with 5.5 seconds to go, because he had the puck hit a rut and bounce.

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

Besides that empty net blunder, I don't know what you guys are smoking but he has been playing well recently. His board work has been strong, creating more chances for McMann and Robertson. That line caused a lot of issues for the Avs.

 

[Oscar Peterson]

How can you take someone seriously when they describe Tavares as having “hands of stone” lol

He’s still a good player even if that empty net play was really unfortunate. I’ve been liking him on that third line.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Tavares with the rooks and Domi with Willy & Bert just works so much better.

Empty net snafu aside, he's looked a lot better lately. Nicer to have two wingers with wheels.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Center depth one of the best in the league is gone

 

[JL17]

When did Tavares become good defensively? The guy has been a minus player his whole career. Plus he’s been awful this year and chasing plays not in the right positions. He can’t even kill penalties. Between being a great faceoff guy and good defensively shouldn’t he be killing penalties?

 

[Craig Button]

I think he needs to go on LTIR

There’s must be something going on in his brain. I saw him take a few shots to the head a few times this season. So I’m not sure if he’s actually got an mri done or a cat scan.

Something is a bit off with him. Better to double check.
Maybe he can come back before the playoffs or when they start.

I’m seriously concerned about his brain.

 

[Mr_Fun]

Obviously his cap hit at this stage is a bit problematic. The one thing that is being done to mitigate some of that problem (or cutting your losses) is having him on the 3rd line. It's a small sample size so far, but I think this might end up being SK's best move so far as a coach.

Hopefully, there isn't much more (if any) decline next year and if things keep going as they appear to be going, we should be ok with him on the 3rd line. Even though his value has diminished, I think it brings up the value of his linemates so maybe this has a way of evening out.

As far as bringing him back after his contract expires, I'm really on fence right now on this one. Truthfully, I couldn't really answer that question until his contract has actually expired.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I saw the opposite. If he really wanted to score, he could have shot from a distance when he had a clear shot at it but that would have risked an icing call if he missed so instead, he carried the puck into the zone thinking if he scored great, but if not, at least the puck is in their zone and he's killed off a few more seconds.

Now mind you, I was a bit drunk at the time so maybe I'm not remembering it with 100% accuracy. But I will also say that JT is not the kind of person who cares about stat padding so I'm pretty sure you're wrong about this anyway.

I don't think shooting the puck from just outside the blueline is an icing.

 

[Gabriel426]

I think JT needs to watch the Cindy Crawford video of her shooting from Center ice with Heels.

 

[notDatsyuk]

The Athletics current rankings for Tavares this year:

Offensive percentile: 90%
Defensive percentile: 80% (Having his best defensive season maybe ever)
Market value: 9 million

The fact he's also a top 10 faceoff guy in the league and still a workhorse (He's averaged the most 5v5 minutes/game of any forward on the team during this win streak) spikes up his value despite the dip in production.

His offensive percentile must be based on his PP, as his ES production this year is horrible.

His defence has never been great beyond winning faceoffs, and has been worse this year.

The stat "most 5v5 minutes/game of any forward on the team during this win streak" is very misleading. He's played fewer games, he doesn't kill penalties or play on the top PP unit, and with large leads in several games Keefe has rested the better players late, so he's getting a bit more.

 

[Zybalto]

His offensive percentile must be based on his PP, as his ES production this year is horrible.

His defence has never been great beyond winning faceoffs, and has been worse this year.

The stat "most 5v5 minutes/game of any forward on the team during this win streak" is very misleading. He's played fewer games, he doesn't kill penalties or play on the top PP unit, and with large leads in several games Keefe has rested the better players late, so he's getting a bit more.

Tavares was never a good defensive center but always played tough minutes and produced enough so his line scored more than the opposition. His PP production has been his trademark for sure.

Strangely,(and this is a surprise to everyone tracking stats) he is having probably the best defensive year of his career and both the underlying numbers and end results are saying so.

Goals against, xGA are way down and he actually allows the fewest scoring chances/60 of any of the 10 forwards with 500+ minutes this season. Even the small things liked blocked shots are up.

Maybe it's just a strange anomaly or blip or maybe he's just working his ass off this season on the defensive side, I dunno.

 

[aingefan]

Besides that empty net blunder, I don't know what you guys are smoking but he has been playing well recently. His board work has been strong, creating more chances for McMann and Robertson. That line caused a lot of issues for the Avs.

This is his best role, where he’s at his best.

 

[notDatsyuk]

This is his best role, where he’s at his best.

Agreed - both the second and third lines look better with him at 3C.

 

[hotpaws]

Tavares was never a good defensive center but always played tough minutes and produced enough so his line scored more than the opposition. His PP production has been his trademark for sure.

Strangely,(and this is a surprise to everyone tracking stats) he is having probably the best defensive year of his career and both the underlying numbers and end results are saying so.

Goals against, xGA are way down and he actually allows the fewest scoring chances/60 of any of the 10 forwards with 500+ minutes this season. Even the small things liked blocked shots are up.

Maybe it's just a strange anomaly or blip or maybe he's just working his ass off this season on the defensive side, I dunno.

just another season and a half of spinning rainbows and sunshine for Johnny and you can rest

tell us again how Willie is dependent on him for his offense , that was a good bed time story !

 

[Zybalto]

just another season and a half of spinning rainbows and sunshine for Johnny and you can rest

tell us again how Willie is dependent on him for his offense , that was a good bed time story !

Spin is strawmanning what I said.

The reality is that Tavares 5v5 goal differential is above 50% and Willy is below 50% this year mainly due to the fact a Nylander line falls off a cliff defensively without him regardless of how much more Nylander is scoring without him.

I even said this could be an illusion and Tavares could revert back to his old defensive numbers (although a return to better offensive numbers is possible as well).

Why so hostile?

 

[hotpaws]

Spin is strawmanning what I said.

The reality is that Tavares 5v5 goal differential is above 50% and Willy is below 50% this year mainly due to the fact a Nylander line falls off a cliff defensively without him regardless of how much more Nylander is scoring without him.

I even said this could be an illusion and Tavares could revert back to his old defensive numbers (although a return to better offensive numbers is possible as well).

Why so hostile?

the reality is Willie is a plus at even strength while Johnny is a - again

not hostile , just wondering why you have to constantly shit on JT's line mates to try to make his light shine brighter

the funny thing is how hard your try to spin JT having a great year while he's been demoted to the 3rd line (which your trying to argue is in fact the 1st line) and the 2nd pp unit

 

[Zybalto]

the reality is Willie is a plus at even strength while Johnny is a - again

not hostile , just wondering why you have to constantly shit on JT's line mates to try to make his light shine brighter

the funny thing is how hard your try to spin JT having a great year while he's been demoted to the 3rd line (which your trying to argue is in fact the 1st line) and the 2nd pp unit

Nylander is easily the better 3v3 and 4v4 player and Tavares is a plus player 5v5 and Nylander is a minus.

I don't think Tavares is having a great year either, just that his overall game is propping up his decline in production this season. We all should be hoping there is more finish on the good chances he is getting/creating (the reason for his good offensive ratings) as we are going to need him in the playoffs.

Pointing that out isn't shitting on anyone....and agai, I'm not the one spinning.

 

[hotpaws]

Nylander is easily the better 3v3 and 4v4 player and Tavares is a plus player 5v5 and Nylander is a minus.

I don't think Tavares is having a great year either, just that his overall game is propping up his decline in production this season. We all should be hoping there is more finish on the good chances he is getting/creating (the reason for his good offensive ratings) as we are going to need him in the playoffs.

Pointing that out isn't shitting on anyone....and agai, I'm not the one spinning.

Tavares isn't creating anything , he hangs around the slot/net front waiting until an offensive opportunity is created for him which he isn't cashing in on .

you've shit on Bert for costing JT points and said Willie is more dependent on Johnny offensively than the other way around , lol

and as i already said , only a little over a season to go before i can hopefully not listen to people like yourselves spinning fairytales to defend the golden boys poor play

defensively he's crap , always the last man back and he just wanders around the D zone cluelessly , but hey he's Johnny so everyone else needs to be blamed like they've always been since jr to deflect attention away from him

 

[banks]

I'm still a huge Tavares fan. I don't buy the idea that him signing here somehow ruined the rebuild.

He's not the quickest player out there. And he clearly gets a lot of his points from the powerplay. But it's not like scoring on the powerplay is a bad thing. Special teams are a big deciding factor in the playoffs.

I'm pretty glad he's on the team. And having the depth to be able to put him on a 3rd line is luxury we should all be thrilled about. If we see lines similar to this in the playoffs, I'd bet he'll cause the oppositions coach and #3C some headaches.

 

[Zybalto]

Tavares isn't creating anything , he hangs around the slot/net front waiting until an offensive opportunity is created for him which he isn't cashing in on .

you've shit on Bert for costing JT points and said Willie is more dependent on Johnny offensively than the other way around , lol

and as i already said , only a little over a season to go before i can hopefully not listen to people like yourselves spinning fairytales to defend the golden boys poor play

defensively he's crap , always the last man back and he just wanders around the D zone cluelessly , but hey he's Johnny so everyone else needs to be blamed like they've always been since jr to deflect attention away from him

Are you confusing me with someone else? I don't remember everything I write but it feels like you're projecting onto me for some reason.

I've actually called for the Bertuzzi/Tavares/Nylander line to stay together as ai thought they complimented each other well until Tavares seemed to mesh with the kids so well and Bert and Domi finally found some finish with Nylander.

I don't think I'm that far off base with my views on this.