John Tavares is a Maple Leaf

[rdowdall]

Well, the "problem" with the RFA system is that it's a joke that's meant to give the impression of some sort of player freedom but without any actual interest in it. If the league really cared about it as a means to facilitate player movement it'd be the easiest thing in the world to address. It sucks, but it sucks by design.

What would you do to change it, just make it a UFA system at a lower age? 

I mean, if you make compensation that much higher why even have an RFA system?

Well I think you still want to give the team that has the player an option.  So not straight free agency.  Some sort of right to match has to be in there I think.  Maybe you go the other way and just say that is the only option you have and there is no compensation at all.  It is a joke of a system because virtually nobody uses it as a way to improve their team, so there is obviously something broken with it.  With a cap, and with the trade route less of an opportunity to improve your team, the league would be better off to investigate a way to improve this part of the system. 

 

[jdh1]

I can,t help but think that this is a great signing.To get a heart and soul player,still in his prime and from Toronto.  This is huge.

 

[Kin]

Well I think you still want to give the team that has the player an option.  So not straight free agency.  Some sort of right to match has to be in there I think.  Maybe you go the other way and just say that is the only option you have and there is no compensation at all.  It is a joke of a system because virtually nobody uses it as a way to improve their team, so there is obviously something broken with it.  With a cap, and with the trade route less of an opportunity to improve your team, the league would be better off to investigate a way to improve this part of the system.

Again though, saying that the system is "broken" is implying that it's not doing what it's supposed to do. But it is doing that. It's giving the illusion that young players have some measure of freedom while still giving teams ultimate control. That is by design.

So long as there's a hard cap and escrow payments why should we care how the money gets distributed? All you do by artificially limiting the supply of free agents in that scenario is divert money away from very good young players to mediocre older players.

 

[mr grieves]

Earlier in the year I didn?t see a fit with us, but as the Islander stock started to sink and the Leafs put up another year of progress, I kind of started to hope even though I knew hockey players were dumb and safe. Little did I know that Tavares was a super big nerd and that he?d be won over by FACTS. I was dancing the whole day.

I worried, after the playoffs, that the Leafs might not appear to have taken much of a step forward -- well, they didn't -- so thought the shine on the franchise as an ascendant  contender might've come off a bit... Coupled with the Islanders doing a lot of things that signal a turnaround, I thought that was enough to get that dumb and safe tendency to kick in and lead Tavares back to the Island. I also thought, if he did leave, there were teams able and willing to pay a lot more, that offered equally good chances to win.

So, I'm pleasantly surprised he both was smart enough to make the same sort of assessment the Leafs management has made -- or at least that's what Dubas suggested -- and, I dunno, sentimental enough that he used his position to pursue a childhood dream.

 

[hockeyfan1]

On the Island, not so much in the way of happiness:

As a long-time Islanders fan (of Mike Bossy & John Tavsres), I can empathize with some of the anger shown by their fans, etc.  Some of the vitreolic reactions are understandable.  However, they should also try to be understanding in turn.  Tavares didn't owe managenent anything, and furthermore, Tavares played most of his career with a team that was in shambles in many a categoty.

Tavares chose a new direction (in signing with the Leafs).

In the same way that the Islanders --  -- the organization,  the team, and their fans -- will embark in a direction that will bring some glory again to a once proud franchise.

Best of luck to them.

 

[Arn]

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Tavares-Marner
Johnsson-Kadri-Brown/Kapanen


I just wanted to post this again.

For the purposes of the rest of this post I'm adding a nominal 4th line:

Brown/Kapanen - Lindholm - Leivo

I was just thinking, my association with the Leafs started around 2001 really with that Eastern finals loss to Carolina (I was in the city visiting and got caught up in the buzz without really having been a hockey fan at all before that) but I really only properly started to watch properly over the next couple of seasons.

I would say this is, potentially, the greatest forward group the Leafs have had in my time.

You think back to the end of the non-cap days and you had (and I can't remember the exact lines and am going mostly off memory but this is just to get the gist)

Roberts - Sundin - Nolan
Tucker - Nieuwendyk - Mogilny
Ponikarovsky - Antropov - Renberg
Reichel - Stajan - Domi

I mean that's probably an even enough balance on the top 2 but falls off massively to the 3rd and 4th lines.

Where they did probably exceed this team was on the D, with Leetch for the run in along with Kaberle and McCabe as the top 3 probably being better than Rielly, Gardiner, whoever

And of course Belfour was better than Andersen.

But it's a massively exciting time

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Surreal! You couldn't wipe the grin off my face all day, yesterday.... Wow!

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I remember making a fairly
Impassioned case for going after Tavares I?m here about six months ago or so.

I remember going back and forth with a bunch of you and some of us getting excited as we crunched the numbers and realized that this was a potential reality.

Now that it?s happened I?m still in disbelief, I cannot wait to watch them play.

I read through this entire thread and really got a kick out of all of your excitement, we are going to do the thing folks, let?s go!

 

[Frank E]

One of the interesting things I've heard kicking around is the idea that the Islanders bringing in Lamoriello and firing Snow actually hurt the Islanders here as Tavares didn't feel like he had a personal obligation to the new group.

*cackles gleefully*

I think I floated this a week ago, but I think that NYI knew that Tavares was a long shot at best, and they needed to bring someone in so that they didn't look like the boyfriend whose girlfriend just left him because he's a loser. 

I think Lou may have thought that he had a shot, a small shot, and he tried...but I don't believe for a second that Lou was brought in to save Tavares as his primary mandate.  I think they know they've got a problem, and Lou is there to do what he did in Toronto, which is get the team on the right track.

I also think Tavares went through the motions of having the Islanders in the mix, to placate the fan base somewhat, and not publicly kick sand in their face on his way out...but he had no intentions of signing there.

After hearing what Tavares has said, I think it lends itself somewhat to this theory.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

On the Island, not so much in the way of happiness:

It came like the slow ripping of a Band-Aid, and now the wound will bleed out all over Islanders fans for years to come.

Yeesh, that's a lede?

Uh, yeah ... from the NY Post.  : :

But actually, the reactions they quote run the gamut: bitter betrayal, trash the jersey, it's on management (that would be my take), he deserves to chase his dream, Barzal is already better than him  : : :, wow look at all the cap space, Lou and Trotz will right the ship.

I absolutely would be bitter if I were an Isles fan.  Can you imagine how we'll feel when Matthews walks someday so he can pursue his boyhood dream of lifting the Coyotes* to greatness?



* Problem is, the Coyotes will be defunct by that time

I remember around here (on the former penaltybox.com) in the playoffs when the Leafs played the Islanders.  The Isles fans that came to troll here were insane, just horrific people.  Then, later in the same playoffs, the Leafs played Carolina, and the Carolina fans that posted here were so nice and respectful.  It was such a huge contrast in behaviour.

 

[herman]

Tavares, while deservedly pricey, puts a nice ceiling on the upcoming contract for Matthews (and thus Marner and Nylander), with 30-goal Kadri* pulling things down from the other end. As Dubas mentioned, this also lowers prices on UFAs looking to hitch their wagons to the front runner.

* granted Kadri potted 30 only after signing the 4.5M deal.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/billius27/status/1013786474234433536

We?ve technically lost GAR this offseason so far (without counting Polak).

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I remember around here (on the former penaltybox.com) in the playoffs when the Leafs played the Islanders.  The Isles fans that came to troll here were insane, just horrific people.  Then, later in the same playoffs, the Leafs played Carolina, and the Carolina fans that posted here were so nice and respectful.  It was such a huge contrast in behaviour.

It's straight-up embarrassing how Islanders fans are attacking Tavares for this. Just gross behavior from adults.

 

[herman]

I remember around here (on the former penaltybox.com) in the playoffs when the Leafs played the Islanders.  The Isles fans that came to troll here were insane, just horrific people.  Then, later in the same playoffs, the Leafs played Carolina, and the Carolina fans that posted here were so nice and respectful.  It was such a huge contrast in behaviour.

It's straight-up embarrassing how Islanders fans are attacking Tavares for this. Just gross behavior from adults.

I think we can thank Trumpism for the descent into incivility.

I think we can also thank Trump for making America much less attractive to raise a young family in.

 

[herman]

Let?s note the other jerseys that flank our latest acquisition?s. Marleau over Kadri is a bit weird.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Babcock made a comment about how the powerplay will need to adjust with the loss of JVR and Bozak, and he mentioned how in talking to Tavares John said his spot on the PP was the same as JVR's. From what I've seen Tavares largely played in Marner's spot but he definitely has the strength to play the net-front presence as well.

 

[ZBBM]

I remember around here (on the former penaltybox.com) in the playoffs when the Leafs played the Islanders.  The Isles fans that came to troll here were insane, just horrific people.  Then, later in the same playoffs, the Leafs played Carolina, and the Carolina fans that posted here were so nice and respectful.  It was such a huge contrast in behaviour.

It's straight-up embarrassing how Islanders fans are attacking Tavares for this. Just gross behavior from adults.

I think we can thank Trumpism for the descent into incivility.

I think we can also thank Trump for making America much less attractive to raise a young family in.

I said this a few days ago and I'm glad you agree.  Some might think it's not a factor, or at least a minor one, but as I understand it his fianc? is Canadian ... and if, as I imagine, she's an intelligent individual, then it would make a nontrivial difference.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Babcock made a comment about how the powerplay will need to adjust with the loss of JVR and Bozak, and he mentioned how in talking to Tavares John said his spot on the PP was the same as JVR's. From what I've seen Tavares largely played in Marner's spot but he definitely has the strength to play the net-front presence as well.

I was thinking about that too. I wonder if Marleau gets some time in the crease as well on the PP - he's actually a pretty big body, decent hands of course. That said, he'd have to take some punishment, and as an older player, that may be a problem.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I was thinking about that too. I wonder if Marleau gets some time in the crease as well on the PP - he's actually a pretty big body, decent hands of course. That said, he'd have to take some punishment, and as an older player, that may be a problem.

With the way the league is changing though the net front guy really doesn't take as much punishment as he would have 5-10-15 years ago. I mean when was the last time you remember seeing JVR getting pummeled there?

I think the big question for the PP will be does Babcock spread out the two units again or load up on one?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I also wonder if Babs plays him on the PK. When Doug Weight took over the Islanders coaching position the one big change he made was using Tavares on the kill and I think that John really appreciated being put in that role.