Confirmed with Link: Tavares to Toronto (7 years, $11M AAV)

[Suntouchable13]

This guy hands down, is the hardest working man in NHL history.

He will make Sundin, look like the ugly part timer he was.


Best thing to happen in Leaf history...\

Sundin was a goof.... Gilmour gave all he had, this guy has three years min..

Dubas is a genius....

The old italian gets..... nuthin

You are entitled to your opinion, but Mats Sundin was a great player. Bozak is a goof, Komarov is a goof, but Mats Sundin was a hell of a player for us.

 

[TmlHockeyFan]

You can tell Babcock is excited to have him on the team as much as the rest of us.

 

[Mitchy]

@Discordia so??? we're still waiting lol

Also someone check on TWS...

Remember when he was sure Tavares to San Jose was a done deal on Friday? LMFAO

 

[thewave]

Yeah where is TWS in all of this??

Is he ok???

He was telling the Islanders board that JT looks slow and that the game is catching up to him and he is slowing down. Has no 5v5 game etc.

 

[IPS]

He was telling the Islanders board that JT looks slow and that the game is catching up to him and he is slowing down. Has no 5v5 game etc.

I, I can't even be mad. he's probably going through an incredible amount of mental turmoil right now. He has to watch the Leafs top-9 eviscerate the entire league next year, that's gotta suck.

 

[Erndog]

Yeah where is TWS in all of this??

Is he ok???

I will never forget when Tampa re-signed JT Miller earlier in the week and TWS said it was a "bold move" that showed JT they mean business kind of thing. Absolutely histerical stuff.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

Alright McDavid. You know what to do now

hmmm i don't know man, that's in 8 years and he'll be almost 30 and probably out of his prime. We got JT, but players like McDavid, Crosby, Ovechkin are generational players that stick with their team for their entire career. As sad as it is, McDavid will probably never be a leaf unless the Oilers never win a cup. I think that was a big factor in Tavares decision, he's never been a cup contender with the NYI

 

[ThewThew]

The main boards are beyond hilarious right now, I'm loving it.

They’re running out of excuses

B.. b.. b-but leafs haven’t won a playoff series yet in the last decade.

 

[The Masters]

"turn that baby arounnd" LOL

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

McDavid for the last 3 years as well ,,, summer of 25 both Tavares and McDavids contracts expire nice smooth transition to another homecoming!

Actually McDavid's contract expires in 2026. He starts his 8 year contract this upcoming season

 

[Mr Knies Guy]

Remember when he was sure Tavares to San Jose was a done deal on Friday? LMFAO

6pm Friday

I love when frauds are exposed

 

[Willy Styles]

I rarely post on a team's board. But I have decided to here. Some Islanders fans that post on the mainboard know I watch the Isles due to being a fan of Mathew Barzal.

But I made a series of posts late in the season of how Tavares played. Particularily he looked suddenly slower than I ever saw him. He was never fast to begin with. But at that time I did say I had my reservations to signing a player that looked like a combination of age and the game getting faster catching up with him to the expected 11 x 8 year contract he would sign. At the time I did not know where he would sign, on the Island, be traded at the deadline, or he hit would even hit UFA status.

I just knew what I saw, and commented on what I saw. And said I had reservations on a long contract for a player that looked like he was starting his decline. Maybe JT was hurt, to give him the benefit of doubt. But it's hard to see him getting faster in an increasingly faster game.

I advocated Snow trading him for draft picks. A 1st and a 2nd could have easily had. This is the true and only crime here. Snow for some reason did not do a good job at protecting his assets by securing assets for a potential lost asset.

Now make no mistake about it, Tavares is going to produce in Toronto. He may find his 5v5 game there too. But on the Island especially in the 2nd half of the year, he was pretty much a PP specialist, his line did not lead the team to the playoffs. Barzal's line was good enough that it should have been closer and if JT played like the elite player he is supposed to be with good goaltending, the Isles should have made it. You can look around the NHL at players that have declined as we head into the longer term of their contracts. Weber, Parise, Toews, Perry, and past ones like Mike Richards.

What I am saying here is, I know this is not a good day for Isles fans. You guys have every reason to be angry. You may even feel betrayed. But in my experience of following the game. Buying a Cup rarely happens. And sometimes the better thing is not to be tied to a long unmovable contract when the player declines. We have no way of knowing how this plays out. Isles have some great young talent coming up from a A+ draft. A new Mgr and stanley cup winning coach. A new arena. Time is on the side of this team. It doesn't take much to turn a team into a playoff team in the new NHL.

LMAOOOOO

You can’t make this stuff up

 

[weems]

The main boards so quickly throwing out "your defence still sucks" right when a signing like this happens badly reeks of opposing fans knowing we're now scary but dont want to admit it.

 

[Superstar]

Stupid July! Be October!!!

But we get 3 months to day dream about all this.

 

[Raymondo316]

He was telling the Islanders board that JT looks slow and that the game is catching up to him and he is slowing down. Has no 5v5 game etc.

I still remember years back when he was posting on here claiming to be a Leafs fan & praising Bozak like he was some kind of superstar

 

[Stephen]

hmmm i don't know man, that's in 8 years and he'll be almost 30 and probably out of his prime. We got JT, but players like McDavid, Crosby, Ovechkin are generational players that stick with their team for their entire career. As sad as it is, McDavid will probably never be a leaf unless the Oilers never win a cup. I think that was a big factor in Tavares decision, he's never been a cup contender with the NYI

Safe to say the Oilers are going to be doing their best New York Islanders impersonations for the next 8 years.

 

[67Cup]

So because Team Canada was good on D so will the Leafs? Subban was their 7D lol c’mon. We still need size/mobility back there. Ideally a scoring PP QB as well to give more space to our F on the wall but that’s nowhere near as big a need.

No, that is not a reasonable inference from what I wrote. Mike Babcock had a large pool to choose from.(As you note, he could relegate a Norris Troohy quality defender to spot duty. And the pool of centres was probably even larger.). He valued skating and defensive play. He chose Tavares for the team.

Inference 1: Babcock knows Tavares’ game and would have been consulted about him.

Inference 2: Babcock would not have chosen him for Team Canada if he were a lousy skater and a poor defensive player, as was claimed earlier in the thread.

This is not to say that Tavares will be threatening Kasperi Kapanen as the fastest Leaf nor that he will be a finalist for the Selke. But Babcock, who is in a position to know, must think he is at least competent in those areas.

 

[ThewThew]

"turn that baby arounnd" LOL

Yo lebron you chose LA huh?

 

[IPS]

I couldn't help myself.

I rarely post on a team's board. But I have decided to here. Some Islanders fans that post on the mainboard know I watch the Isles due to being a fan of Mathew Barzal.

But I made a series of posts late in the season of how Tavares played. Particularily he looked suddenly slower than I ever saw him. He was never fast to begin with. But at that time I did say I had my reservations to signing a player that looked like a combination of age and the game getting faster catching up with him to the expected 11 x 8 year contract he would sign. At the time I did not know where he would sign, on the Island, be traded at the deadline, or he hit would even hit UFA status.

I just knew what I saw, and commented on what I saw. And said I had reservations on a long contract for a player that looked like he was starting his decline. Maybe JT was hurt, to give him the benefit of doubt. But it's hard to see him getting faster in an increasingly faster game.

I advocated Snow trading him for draft picks. A 1st and a 2nd could have easily had. This is the true and only crime here. Snow for some reason did not do a good job at protecting his assets by securing assets for a potential lost asset.

Now make no mistake about it, Tavares is going to produce in Toronto. He may find his 5v5 game there too. But on the Island especially in the 2nd half of the year, he was pretty much a PP specialist, his line did not lead the team to the playoffs. Barzal's line was good enough that it should have been closer and if JT played like the elite player he is supposed to be with good goaltending, the Isles should have made it. You can look around the NHL at players that have declined as we head into the longer term of their contracts. Weber, Parise, Toews, Perry, and past ones like Mike Richards.

What I am saying here is, I know this is not a good day for Isles fans. You guys have every reason to be angry. You may even feel betrayed. But in my experience of following the game. Buying a Cup rarely happens. And sometimes the better thing is not to be tied to a long unmovable contract when the player declines. We have no way of knowing how this plays out. Isles have some great young talent coming up from a A+ draft. A new Mgr and stanley cup winning coach. A new arena. Time is on the side of this team. It doesn't take much to turn a team into a playoff team in the new NHL.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Stupid July! Be October!!!

It'll come in time. I am going to enjoy summer for now. I am in no hurry for ice and snow to arrive again.

 

[Leafsman]

But we get 3 months to day dream about all this.

I''ve done more than 3 months worth of daydreaming just today!

 

[LeafFever]

They’re running out of excuses

B.. b.. b-but leafs haven’t won a playoff series yet in the last decade.

That's such a weird argument. They are going back a decade when Mats was here. LOL.
You can feel the devastation. They convinced themselves for some odd reason the Leafs had no chnace to get him.

 

[Gallagbi]

I couldn't help myself.

Poor guy needs help. Surprised they haven't given him the boot totally by now. Far better men have fallen victim to the *

 

[BlueBaron]

Just got back from camping so could not chime in sooner.

WOW!

Can't wait to see how he's become a 2nd line C on the main boards.

 

[Daisy Jane]

LMAOOOOO

You can’t make this stuff up

he's not necessarily wrong, like the last few years could end up being gross (and he has a full no move which, ewww. i hate those, regardless of the player) but honestly, like i always say,y'all have to leave TWS alone.

like his biggest thing for no longer being a Leafs fan was because Shanahan wasn't good enough and it would cost the Leafs in the end and we'd rue the day we didn't hire Linden and Desjardins and he Bye, Felicia'ed an organization he'd been a fan of for a very very long time.

Which whatever.

but in that time, the guy he lambasted for not being good enough, managed to get a

Aces coach in Babcock
convinced the board to rebuild
got insanely lucky and got a franchise centre
got another franchise centre.
and got everyone rowing their oars in the same direction, and quickly removing those who don't.

of course he's gotta double down on the nonsense now.