65 points is not an average 2C production in the playoffs.
Out of the 163 centers who played 10+ games in the playoffs over the time span of Tavares' 65 point pace, he ranks 17th in PPG.
Not sure how you can claim he is an average 2C during the first 2/3 of his Leafs career when he is obviously looking like an average 1C.
He's ahead of Crosby, Malkin, and Bergeron during this time.
Matthews is 4th in PPG over this time frame.
There are also a bunch of part-time Cs on here, so Tavares is likely a couple of spots higher.
He is a little behind Crosby who has 16 pts in 20 games from 2019 to 2022 (4 years he made the playoffs while Tavares was a leaf) has 21 in 27 (excluding MTL)
Malkin he is again very little behind who has 15 pts in 19 games vs 21 in 27 (excldued MTL game) for Tavares
Bergeron he is ahead of as Bergeron has 41 pts in 55 games, but that includes 2019 where bergeron made the finals and had tougher competition and we saw Bergeron outplay Tavares head to head in 2019 matchup with bergeron also being known for his defense more than offense.
Leaf players pretty much exclusively play R1 when the legs are fresher and not as much wear and tear. The 1 2nd round series they made the boys fell to 3 in 5 for the wingers, 2 in 5 for the new captain, and 1 in 5 for David Kampf 2.0
A guy like Barkov for example may have a lower ppg than Matthews but hes shut matthews/leafs down head to head, made 2 finals and won a cup in one of them and is almost ~70 pts pace those two runs.
65 pts may have been fringe/low end 1C production at best, it was not enough for how much of our cap Tavares has been taking and him expected to be a line driving player who can produce with any type of linemate.
His past 12 games (1/3 of his leaf playoff career) are again David Kampf level numbers. His future production may recover a bit but expecting 65 pts when hes 35 will be prettt much impossible. He may give 40/45 pts in the next 2 years as a 3C but why do we want Tavares back on the team as a 3C when he was the captain who led this team no where?
We should be looking to develop a 3C or trade/sign for a good one under 28 years old who has some prime/good post prime years available and can play a heavy and defensive style game