John Tavares has taken that next step.

[Stephen]

Tavares is looking decent in the Edmonton game from a skating and engagement point of view but isn’t much of a factor offensively whatsoever.

 

[LeafGrief]

Tonight is one of the better nights we've seen from JT in a while, but boy oh boy am I ready for him to actually generate some offense. McDavid and Draisaitl are taking over tonight and I don't know if we've seen JT do that once this year.

Edit: JT I love you

 

[Stephen]

Tonight is one of the better nights we've seen from JT in a while, but boy oh boy am I ready for him to actually generate some offense. McDavid and Draisaitl are taking over tonight and I don't know if we've seen JT do that once this year.

Tavares looks energized and in the play, and you’re right he looks better than he has in a while. But the bar on that one is so low because most nights Kerfoot looks engaged and energized too. The lack of offense is really noticeable right now.

 

[Gallagbi]

Two posts and some good defensive play. Has to finish, but he's generated more offense lately

 

[Menzinger]

Great game tonight so far

 

[LeafGrief]

Tonight is one of the better nights we've seen from JT in a while, but boy oh boy am I ready for him to actually generate some offense. McDavid and Draisaitl are taking over tonight and I don't know if we've seen JT do that once this year.

I'm going to post this more often

 

[Stephen]

Good to see him rewarded with some production (and us with some entertainment) in that game vs Edmonton. Started us on the comeback trail and was on the ice for the OT winner.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Remember, when discussing our captain, make sure you get your opinion from the right Simmonds, not Simmons.

 

[hotpaws]

Remember, when discussing our captain, make sure you get your opinion from the right Simmonds, not Simmons.

JT has never led a team anywhere so I have no idea why anyone would believe he’s a great/good Captain .

nice of Simmonds to back Johnny PJ’s but the more people come to his defence the more attention it draws to the poor season he’s having

 

[Dekes For Days]

I have no idea why anyone would believe he’s a great/good Captain .

It's almost like you don't interact with him and have no idea what any captain is like.

the more people come to his defence the more attention it draws to the poor season he’s having

More accurately, the people that come to attack him are really just pointing out their own limited knowledge and understanding.

 

[The Podium]

I take a shutdown 65-70 point Tavares than a defensive liability 85-90 point Tavares. His offensive limitations this season, be it bad luck or decline, doesnt bother me if the other team isnt scoring while hes on the ice.

Seems like hes having a Yzerman circa 98 wake up call

 

[Dekes For Days]

lucky for us you do so maybe you could share your opinion on his leadership ability since you have first hand knowledge

I never said I do. I just trust the words of the people on the team interacting with him every day, over the baseless claims of some random guy on the internet who complains about everything regarding the Leafs.

limited knowledge and understanding of the game?

Yep, you heard me. Also, your description of what I do in this forum is not at all accurate. I just prefer truth and accuracy, instead of hate and false claims about the team we're supposed to be cheering for.

 

[Twine Tickler]

JT and Willy have been great for a while IMO. Since the western roady. They have been engaged in the play far more, defensively responsible, and are starting to develop chemistry. JT has been lacking a bit of finish that we saw in his first year, but that will come around. JT looked outstanding on Saturday IMO, just commanded all 200 ft of ice. He seems to be playing with the puck on his stick more. As in, using his strong core and hands to beat guys 1 on 1, and not just shovelling the puck down low and trying to retrieve it. It has opened up a lot of offensive opportunities for himself and Willy. JT is still a highly skilled player and totally capable of beating anyone 1on 1, and he seems to be getting that confidence back to play that way.

Gally has shockingly fit so well with them. It really has been a fun line to watch. Never thought i'd become a fan of Gally . He has just looked so committed to being the hardest working player on the ice every time he is out there. His forechecking have been really noticeable, and such a compliment to strong players like Willy and JT.

 

[Dekes For Days]

and i'll take the fact that he's never led a team anywhere

Teams go places as teams. Who wears the C has very little to do with that. Which means that with zero information/justification to make such claims, you're baselessly attacking Tavares and calling Simmonds a liar.

and not so surprising how much success the Islanders have had since Johnny bolted and they didn't have to revolve the team around him

The Islanders haven't won anything, and more accurately, the Islanders essentially returned to the level they were prior to their 2017-2018 blip. And all it took to replace Tavares was the continued emergence of Barzal, a new cup-winning coach, a completely new defense core, and some of the best goaltending in the league.

but this discussion needs to end

Yes, I think that's probably best for you.

 

[ShaneFalco]

It's almost like you don't interact with him and have no idea what any captain is like.

More accurately, the people that come to attack him are really just pointing out their own limited knowledge and understanding.

Best not to waste time on that poster

 

[meefer]

JT has never led a team anywhere so I have no idea why anyone would believe he’s a great/good Captain .

nice of Simmonds to back Johnny PJ’s but the more people come to his defence the more attention it draws to the poor season he’s having

The number of wonderful players who never won a Cup and who would be considered excellent leaders is long and storied, if you need a list, it can be provided, but I think you already know that. His poor season, by your definition, is based largely on a shooting percentage less than his norm, and is correctable should a hot streak occur. And, for the record, he sits tied for 47th in league scoring while playing, at 18.04 min/game in the 79th position for min/game for forwards. That his line is dominating in many categories, his plus/minus is tied for 15th in the league for forwards, that outside of: Bergeron, Giroux, O'Rielly and Jordan Staal sees Tavares (for C taking more than 500 attempts on the dot) sitting in 4th place league wide, for...does one need to go on?

lucky for us you do so maybe you could share your opinion on his leadership ability since you have first hand knowledge

limited knowledge and understanding of the game ? that's funny coming from a person who believes the sole purpose of being a member of this forum is to pimp the team and attack anyone who dares say a non positive word about any player or in particular the GM

You mean doing the exact thing that you've done in the previous post, while ignoring the evidence of his abilities, while ignoring the lack of knowledge that anyone here has that could give them the foundation to make this comment, I have no idea why anyone would believe he’s a great/good Captain? You don't know. You're not a part of the room. You have no idea how he helps people integrate with the team. You have no idea what his words are when supporting a teammate, or demanding more of them. You don't know. So don't slag a captain of our team when you DON'T KNOW.

 

[Racer88]

Teams go places as teams. Who wears the C has very little to do with that. Which means that with zero information/justification to make such claims, you're baselessly attacking Tavares and calling Simmonds a liar.

The Islanders haven't won anything, and more accurately, the Islanders essentially returned to the level they were prior to their 2017-2018 blip. And all it took to replace Tavares was the continued emergence of Barzal, a new cup-winning coach, a completely new defense core, and some of the best goaltending in the league.

Yes, I think that's probably best for you.

So it sounds like a good GM replaced the coach and the defence core and great goaltending. Hopefully someday our GM can do that

 

[hotpaws]

The number of wonderful players who never won a Cup and who would be considered excellent leaders is long and storied, if you need a list, it can be provided, but I think you already know that. His poor season, by your definition, is based largely on a shooting percentage less than his norm, and is correctable should a hot streak occur. And, for the record, he sits tied for 47th in league scoring while playing, at 18.04 min/game in the 79th position for min/game for forwards. That his line is dominating in many categories, his plus/minus is tied for 15th in the league for forwards, that outside of: Bergeron, Giroux, O'Rielly and Jordan Staal sees Tavares (for C taking more than 500 attempts on the dot) sitting in 4th place league wide, for...does one need to go on?



You mean doing the exact thing that you've done in the previous post, while ignoring the evidence of his abilities, while ignoring the lack of knowledge that anyone here has that could give them the foundation to make this comment, I have no idea why anyone would believe he’s a great/good Captain? You don't know. You're not a part of the room. You have no idea how he helps people integrate with the team. You have no idea what his words are when supporting a teammate, or demanding more of them. You don't know. So don't slag a captain of our team when you DON'T KNOW.

never said he needed to win the cup as a C to be considered a good leader but i'd like to know what you base your belief that he's a good leader on ?

none of us know what goes on in the room but on the ice i see Mathews/Marner driving this team and off the ice i see them with Marleau/Thornton/Simmonds while praising what they brought to the locker room , the only time they mention JT is if they get asked directly about him and then they just give some canned response . lol

but hey he's a Leaf and was named Capt so just like Phaneuf we have to go to the grave defending him , lol

 

[Wafflewhipper]

JT has never led a team anywhere so I have no idea why anyone would believe he’s a great/good Captain .

nice of Simmonds to back Johnny PJ’s but the more people come to his defence the more attention it draws to the poor season he’s having

Poor? Poor evaluation by you maybe here. Poor? Nothing credible in that comment. Noticed just the short insult because you can’t back it with anything of substance right. Why waste time posting something long with no weight to it.
Just about one of the worst posts about Tavares. You win the p!ss poor evaluation award today. Wow man thats just not right

He could and should have a few more goals. The chances are there and there were lots and lots to this point. He’s been dangerous almost every game.

 

[Dekes For Days]

So it sounds like a good GM replaced the coach and the defence core and great goaltending.

The defense was largely already in the organization. So was Greiss and Sorokin (and Lou has generally gotten pretty lucky with goaltending), though yes, finding goaltending and hiring Trotz are the two good things Lou has done for them.

Hopefully someday our GM can do that

You must be confused, because our good GM actually has replaced the coach, remade the defense core, and brought in our best goalie, while also maintaining one of the best offenses in the league.

 

[Mr Hockey]

The defense was largely already in the organization. So was Greiss and Sorokin (and Lou has generally gotten pretty lucky with goaltending), though yes, finding goaltending and hiring Trotz are the two good things Lou has done for them.

You must be confused, because our good GM actually has replaced the coach, remade the defense core, and brought in our best goalie, while also maintaining one of the best offenses in the league.

brought in our best goalie, do you mean Campbell?

 

[hotpaws]

Poor? Poor evaluation by you maybe here. Poor? Nothing credible in that comment. Noticed just the short insult because you can’t back it with anything of substance right. Why waste time posting something long with no weight to it.
Just about one of the worst posts about Tavares. You win the p!ss poor evaluation award today. Wow man thats just not right

He could and should have a few more goals. The chances are there and there were lots and lots to this point. He’s been dangerous almost every game.

so it's a poor evaluation because you just repeatedly say it's a poor evaluation without saying why it's a poor evaluation , that makes a lot of sense , lol

outside of this forum very very few people believe he's having some great season like i keep reading on these boards but hey who gives a damn because the main point is to waive the pom poms because that'll be the reason the team will win the cup this year , lol

 

[Throw More Waffles]

So it sounds like a good GM replaced the coach and the defence core and great goaltending. Hopefully someday our GM can do that

Lol, i was about to write the same thing.

They must now be ECSTATIC the way the whole Tavares thing turned out.

 

[Racer88]

The defense was largely already in the organization. So was Greiss and Sorokin (and Lou has generally gotten pretty lucky with goaltending), though yes, finding goaltending and hiring Trotz are the two good things Lou has done for them.

You must be confused, because our good GM actually has replaced the coach, remade the defense core, and brought in our best goalie, while also maintaining one of the best offenses in the league.

I agree we have good offence. Just because he is “our best goalie” doesn’t mean we have been getting great goal tending like lou’s goalie.
Just because He has changed the coach doesn’t mean we are getting top end cup worthy coaching. Lastly if the defence was already there why did you call them a completely new defensive core.
You can’t have it both ways

 

[Gallagbi]

I agree we have good offence. Just because he is “our best goalie” doesn’t mean we have been getting great goal tending like lou’s goalie.
Just because He has changed the coach doesn’t mean we are getting top end cup worthy coaching. Lastly if the defence was already there why did you call them a completely new defensive core.
You can’t have it both ways

I believe most of their D graduated from their previous regime. Similar to how Nylander and Marner suited up under Lou, but weren't acquired by him