Not really.

JVR was leaving; they had Marleau on too much money and Brown/Johnsson/Kapanen in the wings to take over that role. If Tavares didnt sign, Bozak would've re-signed.

Everything after that point is up in the air. The Leafs still had Marleau on a massive contract and Zaitsev making too much.

Hate to break it to you but this looks worse then last years team. Brodie isn’t a bottom pair defencemen. The top 6 doesn’t look that great except for Matthews and nylander and marner and maybe kadri. It’s the 2 left wingers which don’t belong there imo. Bottom 6 looks eh, idk how I feel bunting and Robertson on the 3rd and 4th.

Someone who gets it!

Resigning JVR seems like the type of stupid thing the Leafs would have done. Having said that Tavares is the most overrated player of his generation

This team is objectively worse than the current team that’s over the cap

That’s the point.

Ah yes very overrated PPG centreman who consistently hits 39 goals, is top 5 in the faceoff circle, and great defensively. There’s a lot of revisionist history with JT because he’s a Leaf, you’re forgetting he turned down a deal with the Sharks that would pay him more than McDavid

The Leafs signed him because they missed out on a better player a year earlier in Stamkos.

And Bergeron is great defensively. Tavares would not be great

The Leafs signed him because he was better than Matthews at the time too, he’s gone from being atrociously overrated his first year when he nearly potted 50, to someone who’s still a top 20 centre that people think should be in the KHL

Matthews was a kid in 2018. That’s like saying Pittsburgh should have signed Joe Thornton when Crosby was 20 years old. That would have been a waste of cap