John Tavares vs Auston Matthews

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: AnalyticsGeek

Team: 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs

Initial Creation Date: Nov. 26, 2019

Published: Nov. 26, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

I will admit, after the 2018/19 season, I believed that John Tavares was the best player on the Maple Leafs. However, there is no doubt that this season, the best player on the Leafs is Auston Matthews.

The real question is, who is the best player overall?

It's hard to not choose Auston Matthews, because he is a prolific goal scorer who can consistently put 40-50 in the back of the net.

I don't think Tavares is as dominant as Matthews, he isn't as big or fast, plus Matthews can undress opposing players better. However, Tavares is the guy who matches up against the opposition's top players. He's also better at elevating the play of his linemates. Most people consider Nylander to be a better player than Marner, but Tavares helped Marner score 94 points whereas Nylander is on pace for just 62 points this season on Matthews' line. Tavares' ability to protect the puck when in possession, his strength and agility are also elite. So there are many things to consider.

What'd you guys think?

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Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2020
2021
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ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

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ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
21	$81,500,000	$81,352,699	$0	$0	$147,301

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Hyman, Zach $2,250,000$2,250,000 RW, LW M-NTC UFA - 2	Tavares, John $11,000,000$11,000,000 C, LW NMC UFA - 6	Marner, Mitchell $10,893,000$10,893,000 RW UFA - 6
Johnsson, Andreas $3,400,000$3,400,000 LW, RW UFA - 4	Matthews, Auston $11,634,000$11,634,000 C UFA - 5	Nylander, William $6,962,366$6,962,366 RW UFA - 5
Mikheyev, Ilya $925,000$925,000 LW, RW UFA - 1	Kerfoot, Alexander $3,500,000$3,500,000 LW, C, RW UFA - 4	Kapanen, Kasperi $3,200,000$3,200,000 RW UFA - 3
Gauthier, Frédérik $675,000$675,000 C UFA - 1	Shore, Nick $750,000$750,000 C UFA - 1	Moore, Trevor $775,000$775,000 LW, RW UFA - 2

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Rielly, Morgan $5,000,000$5,000,000 LD UFA - 3	Ceci, Cody $4,500,000$4,500,000 RD UFA - 1	Andersen, Frederik $5,000,000$5,000,000 G M-NTC UFA - 2
Muzzin, Jake $4,000,000$4,000,000 LD UFA - 1	Barrie, Tyson $2,750,000$2,750,000 RD UFA - 1	Hutchinson, Michael $700,000$700,000 G UFA - 1
Dermott, Travis $863,333$863,333 LD/RD UFA - 1	Holl, Justin $675,000$675,000 RD UFA - 1

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
Spezza, Jason $700,000$700,000 C, RW NTC UFA - 1		Horton, Nathan $5,300,000$5,300,000 RW M-NTC, NMC UFA - 1
		Clarkson, David $5,250,000$5,250,000 RW M-NTC, NMC UFA - 1

Nov. 26, 2019 at 3:45 p.m.

GenXHockey

Formerly Jamiepo

Joined: Jul. 2018

Posts: 21,156

Likes: 10,700

Austin Matthews is the more skilled player, not by a ton. Tavares is a full package and gentleman/leader.

RangerWall92 liked this.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 3:47 p.m.

RangerWall92

Joined: Nov. 2018

Posts: 3,393

Likes: 989

As a leafs fan, I'd pick Matthews and for many reasons.

- He's younger
- Bigger and stronger
- Better shot
- Faster skater

Tavares
- Better 2-way game
- Better passer
- Hand-eye coordination

Leafs_fan13 liked this.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 3:49 p.m.

Leafs_fan13

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 1,784

Likes: 344

Matthews has the better.

Tavares has a slight advantage out front with tipping shots.

Tavares is a lot better defensively, even tho Matthews is improving on that side of his game.

Matthews can make other players look really good. Let’s look at johnsson for example, he’s playing and now he’s pretty much untouchable for the leafs cuz Matthews line has been the best line the leafs have had all year.

Tavares and marner help each other out in many ways. Marner feeds Tavares the puck and sets him up which is job. Tavares is the one putting the puck in the net and finishing marners plays off. Marner is a elite player and so is nylander.

Tavares is a leader Matthews doesn’t have that yet. Even tho Matthews has called the team out.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 3:56 p.m.

redw1n9s

Joined: Mar. 2016

Posts: 1,911

Likes: 572

You're wrong twice. Marner is the best player on the Leafs.

TMLSage liked this.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 3:56 p.m.

TheCoontniac

Canes Baby

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 4,499

Likes: 1,250

Currently the more skilled player is Matthews.

That being said, I cant stop thinking about how dominant Tavares was. His control of the puck with arguably the best in the league. It was near impossible to get the puck off of him in most situations. His playmaking ability was bar none.

I cant speak for his Leaf years as I dont watch the Leafs much at all.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:01 p.m.

will9739

Will9739

Joined: Jun. 2016

Posts: 893

Likes: 308

11-10-4

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:04 p.m.

mondo

torontos finest

Joined: Jul. 2019

Posts: 9,560

Likes: 11,191

Quoting: will9739

11-10-4

7-16-3

will9739 liked this.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:09 p.m.

will9739

Will9739

Joined: Jun. 2016

Posts: 893

Likes: 308

Quoting: mondo

7-16-3

LOL

...... 1967

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:12 p.m.

mondo

torontos finest

Joined: Jul. 2019

Posts: 9,560

Likes: 11,191

Quoting: will9739

LOL

...... 1967

dam owned again

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:18 p.m.

#10

PleaseBanMeForMyOwnGood

Banned

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 24,997

Likes: 7,855

Who cares, they are both sick.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:21 p.m.

#11

will9739

Will9739

Joined: Jun. 2016

Posts: 893

Likes: 308

Quoting: mondo

dam owned again

Obviously "your" team is much more talented than "mine" and should win a Stanley Cup long before the Wings do again. I hope that no one in Detroit gets the bright idea to rehire Babcock but since Kenny went Edmonton there is really no chance of that.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 4:33 p.m.

#12

leafs101

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 11,202

Likes: 5,207

Matthews. Tavares is a relatively close second though

Nov. 26, 2019 at 5:05 p.m.

#13

Trickster

hey look a squirrel

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 6,047

Likes: 3,752

Both have a bit of different tool set.

Tavares is leader and Matthews is the talent.
But Tavares is not far behind in talent either, perhaps over time Matthews becomes a leader.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 5:36 p.m.

#14

TMLSage

GM - Canucks

Joined: Dec. 2016

Posts: 5,192

Likes: 1,218

Quoting: redw1n9s

You're wrong twice. Marner is the best player on the Leafs.

I agree that for my money Marner is the best player on the Leafs. I would also rate Taveres over Matthews.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 5:44 p.m.

#15

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

Banned

Joined: Sep. 2019

Posts: 5,011

Likes: 1,636

Quoting: redw1n9s

You're wrong twice. Marner is the best player on the Leafs.

I think you are being sarcastic, but in all seriousness, if Marner hits 120 points, then I will agree he is the team's best player.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 5:46 p.m.

#16

AnalyticsGeek

Thread Starter

Banned

Joined: Sep. 2019

Posts: 5,011

Likes: 1,636

Quoting: jslongo

Yeah I agree. With the Leafs, Tavares has been less flashy but I think that may be because the injuries are catching up to him plus he's been asked to me more of a 2-way player.

Nov. 26, 2019 at 6:03 p.m.

#17

palhal

LongtimeLeafsufferer

Joined: Jul. 2015

Posts: 59,429

Likes: 22,636

You've lost me on your "Most people consider Nylander a better player than Marner" Who actually believes that ? Nylander is older than Marner. Nylander might just stuck to be 65 point guy while Marner can be a consistent 90 point player
Matthews has never shown me he's the best Leaf. He disappears for many games. He wasn't the best last year. He might turn to have best Leaf season this year. We can look at this in spring 2024. Matthews, Marner and Tavares will likely be Leafs for six consecutive years. I wouldn't put Matthews any more than 33% chance of being the best Leaf in six year time frame.

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