Edited Nov. 27, 2020 at 3:47 p.m.
not signing tavares could have been a chain reaction of disasters
1. if they don't sign JT, does the team make the playoffs in 18-19 with matthews injured, nylander out till december and not getting back in shape till march, marleau declining hard and brown regressing a little?
2. do they even pull off the muzzin trade? Does he wanna come to a non playoff team?
3. Does spezza come play in toronto if the leafs miss the playoffs? What about Thornton - also who plays RD in 19-20 if not barrie? Who are we trading to get that replacement? Nylander, Johnsson, Kappy - our offence would already be pretty meh
there are so many questions that honestly it's not even worth discussing. The JT signing was fantastic, he was the biggest free agent fish maybe ever, and he took less money to come home and win a cup with the leafs. Since that signing we've seen tons of guys take less money to come home
if I could construct a player from scratch, it would be JT. a guy with a wicked shot, amazing hands, a total hockey dork, a sturdy frame, 6'1" 215lbs, a Toronto kid who loves the leafs, a leader who can wear the C, a guy who leaves it all out on the ice every single night, injury or not.
Like, what people aren't discussing enough is the fact that JT had a broken hand (and was recovering from it) for most of the season, had a 2 month old baby at home, suffered a back injury over the summer, lost his winger in marner due to injury and STILL scored at a 34-35 goal 78 point pace
the JT signing will pay dividends later on, he's been our best player in the playoffs both years in a row