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

[Walshy7]

Thanks for the leg work. I'm anxiously awaiting @The CyNick twist and shifting goal posts

The king of spin

 

[saltming]

"50 points? geeze Kyle I said I wanted a challenge but mission impossible isn't a challenge"

Of course they had the mission impossible theme song blasting in the background!

 

[saltming]

The king of spin

Spin doctor

 

[Daisy Jane]

Hey, Everyone Guess What?!

John Tavares Is a Leaf!

continue on with your day.

 

[Walshy7]

Of course they had the mission impossible theme song blasting in the background!

"Mr Tavares, your mission should you choose to accept it: help Zach Hyman get 50 points. As usual should you be compromised or fail your mission we will deny all knowledge of you and your mission"

That was the video they presented. Marner on wires lowering down to the ice to plant a puck on hyman's stick with an open net

 

[luvdahattymatty]

Gramps here. This weather is hot hot hot. I think it must get you guys irritable. Lots of arguing between buds here. ACC1224 has it right. don't doubt yourself. When you are right you are right. When other guys start to argue with you just ignore. JT has been thinking about Leafs for well over a year. The Shanny's and the Tavares' are very good friends. They were friends before JT was even hatched. This is a very long long relationship that would have continued on at poker night even if JT went back to Islanders. Arguing about who gets what credit is just petty stuff really. But i can tell you this dubie was picked because he has the right stuff ethically morally and he can make a pitch too. If he ever starts acting like a kid you won't see him anymore. To think dubie has the same rope as Lou had is also not true. Lou helped Shanny too. i know this because Shanny told us over a beer at hot Stove before a game. As i told you guys it was always between Leafs and Isles with Leafs having the edge. After midnight it was 99% Leafs as there was always a chance he changes his mind over a sleep. dubie will make a good gm for us. lots to get excited about for us season ticket holders in 2018/9. cant wait for habs leafs on opening night. once again thanks JT for coming on board. have fun at your wedding. it will be one of best days of your life. dont think about hockey on the honeymoon just a piece of advice.

 

[Walshy7]

Spin doctor

his theme song

 

[saltming]

"Mr Tavares, your mission should you choose to accept it: help Zach Hyman get 50 points. As usual should you be compromised or fail your mission we will deny all knowledge of you and your mission"

That was the video they presented. Marner on wires lowering down to the ice to plant a puck on hyman's stick with an open net

Tavares quickly calculates 15% chance he goes too shelf 40% 5 hole 80% off the right pad, but if I were on the ice with these too 100% chance the goalie and both defensemen only cover Mitch and me so it's a tap in! 97.265% I'm going to accept this mission

 

[Sypher04]

It's actually the dumbest argument.

Tavares not only replaces but improves JVR's production AND from a more premium position on the ice AND does not need to be sheltered to do so.

AJ or Kappy producing 43 points to replace Bozak isn't that far fetched, but if you consider the Leafs also "lost" Komarov this off-season (which apparently isn't an issue) and his 7 goals/19 points, AJ/Kappy together should be able to not only match the 18 goals and 62 points, but also improve on that. This is also ignoring the defensive gains from it.

The other thing people seem quite happy to ignore is that this season was an outlier for JVR. While he usually flirts with 30 goals, his average goals per game in his previous 5 seasons with the Leafs was .357. This past season .444. It's far more likely his production slips back around or just under 30 goals per season than stays up at 36.

Also Komarov, Bozak & JVR all leaving opens up more icetime & powerplay opportunities for guys who were previously blocked.

 

[saltming]

his theme song

 

[Walshy7]

Tavares quickly calculates 15% chance he goes too shelf 40% 5 hole 80% off the right pad, but if I were on the ice with these too 100% chance the goalie and both defensemen only cover Mitch and me so it's a tap in! 97.265% I'm going to accept this mission

100% hyman dumps it into the corner and battles for it. That was the blooper reel, "cut!! Hyman just put the puck into the net mate".

 

[saltming]

100% hyman dumps it into the corner and battles for it. That was the blooper reel, "cut!! Hyman just put the puck into the net mate".

But in the montage he wins the puck battle and passes it to a wide open CGI of Tavares who has tap in

 

[Walshy7]

But in the montage he wins the puck battle and passes it to a wide open CGI of Tavares who has tap in

haha yeah. Wins a battle by himself tries a wrap around puck slides off his stick to
CGI JT

 

[supermann_98]

Ray Ferraro keeps bringing up how anreas Johnsson won’t score as many goals as jvr so the leafs are down goals there. Jvr scores 36 and bozak scores 11 to match their loss we need 47 goals. JT scores 37 last season so Johnsson would need only 10 goals next year for us to be even with goals scored last year. I’m fairly convinced Johnsson can get 10 goals. It amazes me the spin done in the media are trying to put in this

Not to mention Johnson kills penalties and actually hustles when back-checking and playing without the puck.

 

[The CyNick]

@The CyNick

"Most players don't care about that stuff. When you talk to enough pro players you understand that they don't think about things like childhood teams. They care about their own best interests. Where they are most comfortable. If playing for the hometown team really mattered, Lindros would have been here in his prime, Stamkos would have signed here and a number of other hometown guys would have as well.

That's not to say we can't sign JT. I just don't think that "you'll live forever" nonsense works. It will come down to does he think he can win here, and also does he value winning over being comfortable for the next 7-8 years." https://hfboards.mandatory.com/thre...-well-for-some.2482221/page-60#post-145935163

So would you say that you were completely wrong about pitching the legacy of bringing a cup back to Toronto and the "you'll live forever" nonsense playing a role? And are you back tracking now that Tavares picked the team he thought was in his own best interests and gave him the best shot to win?

Because seems like Dubas used both angles to convince him

"Well looks like the impact of selecting Dubas over Lou will cost us Hunter and a good shot at Tavares.

Shows the value of an experienced GM with a strong reputation. Hopefully Dubas has some tricks up his sleeve to counter."https://hfboards.mandatory.com/thre...ed-free-agency.2500129/page-58#post-147125915

Or would you say that you were completely wrong about Dubas costing us our shot at Tavares?

​

Nothing wrong with what I said there.

I didn't think JT would come here ONLY based on childhood dreams. I may have underestimated the value of that to him based on his bedsheet Twitter post. But if the Leafs were garbage, he wouldn't have signed here. Having the chance to win over the entirety of his contract was key in his decision. He said as much and I said as much.

In the end Dubas in my estimation was not a huge negative or positive in the process. Lou on the other hand came in and based on his presence and track record almost managed to throw up a hail mary TD and keep JT in Long Island. At the end of the day, there was more negative than positive with the Islanders, so JT went to the team he thought have him the best chance of winning. It just so happens it also checked the box of boyhood dream, which clearly was valuable to him. So Lou never really had a shot. That's no knock against him.

Tying this back to Dubas. My point in the post you are qouting was that Dubas selling the childhood dream aspect is nothing new. That's the same pitch every GM in Leafs history has used on GTA kids. So you can't give him credit for using that angle, when it's used by everyone. Again, Dubas had luck on his side and when he was making that pitch, because it was the one guy who actually cared about it.

And you certainly can't credit Dubas for the young core because he didn't bring in any of the guys that convinced JT this was the place he could win and didn't need to remove key pieces to fit him in.

Maybe you need to better articulate what exactly you think I was off base about. Because I'm not seeing it.

 

[MattySnipes]

Interesting stats on why JT may be underrated. Charts pulled from an article on The Athletic by Ian Tulloch.

 

[Nooodles]

Not to mention Johnson kills penalties and actually hustles when back-checking and playing without the puck.

But..but...JvR in front of the net!! Look at how he practices this every day!!

I wish he would have practiced some defense...

 

[ShaneFalco]

Interesting stats on why JT may be underrated. Charts pulled from an article on The Athletic by Ian Tulloch.

View attachment 128585

View attachment 128583

That's pretty telling

 

[Vexed]

I feel like the 'boyhood dream' was the difference between Toronto and San Jose and not much of a factor on whether he was staying on the Island or not

 

[Sypher04]

If you total up all the offense provided by Bozak, Komarov, Johnsson, Martin, Kapanen, JVR, Plekanec, Moore, Gauthier and Leivo last season, Tavares replaces over half of it BY HIMSELF.

That group combined for a total of 74 goals & 86 assists.
Swapping all of that for only Tavares puts us at a deficit of 37 goals & 39 assists, most of which is reasonable to assume can be replaced by Kapanen/Johnsson with increased minutes & powerplay opportunity.

None of this giving any consideration to the other 2 players we'd have filling out our roster. OR the impact Tavares has offensively on his linemates. Or the impact he has on our matching game. And on and on we go.

 

[LeafFever]

Nothing wrong with what I said there.

I didn't think JT would come here ONLY based on childhood dreams. I may have underestimated the value of that to him based on his bedsheet Twitter post. But if the Leafs were garbage, he wouldn't have signed here. Having the chance to win over the entirety of his contract was key in his decision. He said as much and I said as much.

In the end Dubas in my estimation was not a huge negative or positive in the process. Lou on the other hand came in and based on his presence and track record almost managed to throw up a hail mary TD and keep JT in Long Island. At the end of the day, there was more negative than positive with the Islanders, so JT went to the team he thought have him the best chance of winning. It just so happens it also checked the box of boyhood dream, which clearly was valuable to him. So Lou never really had a shot. That's no knock against him.

Tying this back to Dubas. My point in the post you are qouting was that Dubas selling the childhood dream aspect is nothing new. That's the same pitch every GM in Leafs history has used on GTA kids. So you can't give him credit for using that angle, when it's used by everyone. Again, Dubas had luck on his side and when he was making that pitch, because it was the one guy who actually cared about it.

And you certainly can't credit Dubas for the young core because he didn't bring in any of the guys that convinced JT this was the place he could win and didn't need to remove key pieces to fit him in.

Maybe you need to better articulate what exactly you think I was off base about. Because I'm not seeing it.

so no credit to the guy who actually signed Tavares, but credit to the guy who did not...
Islanders could always offer 8 years and were seen as a heavy favourite to sign Tavares before Lou came aboard. so why give him credit?

 

[Nithoniniel]

so no credit to the guy who actually signed Tavares, but credit to the guy who did not...
Islanders could always offer 8 years and were seen as a heavy favourite to sign Tavares before Lou came aboard. so why give him credit?

Hah. That's a pretty telling summary.

 

[Gary Nylund]

All the other threads seem so irrelevant buried in the shadow of the Tavares signing. We actually did it. Sure I still think about signing Gardiner and a few other things here and there but my prevailing emotion is that this season is going to be so much fun. Like more fun then I've ever had in my almost 50 years of being a Leaf fan. It's going to be so much fun it may even be worth the wait. I can't wait!

 

[Bluelines]

Hey, Everyone Guess What?!

John Tavares Is a Leaf!

continue on with your day.

Who? Is it another freaking Euro? Soft as Marshmallow!!!!

 

[Gary Nylund]

so no credit to the guy who actually signed Tavares, but credit to the guy who did not...
Islanders could always offer 8 years and were seen as a heavy favourite to sign Tavares before Lou came aboard. so why give him credit?

LOL. Giving Lou credit for what was it again, "almost" hitting on a hail mary is ... LOL.