John Tavares Will Go Down as a Maple Leafs Great

There is something about John Tavares that I think Toronto Maple Leafs fans sometimes get wrong. They look at the $11 million contract he signed when he came to the team, then compare what he does now with what he did when he was younger, and wonder whether Toronto made a mistake. Many have said that signing Tavares at that cost was the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as the team’s Stanley Cup fortunes went.

I think that's looking at the wrong part of the story.

Tavares will eventually go down as one of the great Maple Leafs of his generation. Not because he was the fastest player or because he carried Toronto to a Stanley Cup. That was never his role. It's because of what he represented when he arrived, what he has given the organization since, and the way he has handled himself as his career has moved into its later stages.

Tavares Changed the Maple Leafs.

When Tavares signed with Toronto in 2018, it felt like something had changed. The team had young stars in Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, but they were still trying to convince everyone that they were a team ready to become a serious contender. Then Tavares came home.

He was a five-time All-Star, a former Islanders captain and one of the best centres in hockey. More importantly, he chose Toronto when he could have gone somewhere else. Was the seven-year, $77 million contract going to look expensive toward the end? Sure. Plenty of people knew that when it was signed. That's how long-term contracts work with aging players.

But judging the entire decision by what happens at the end of the contract is hindsight. In fact, Tavares took a significant hometown discount on his next contract, signing for $4.389 million per season through 2028-29.

Tavares Is Pretty Much What Toronto Signed.

Here's the thing about Tavares that gets lost in all the salary-cap arguments. He has pretty much been exactly what the Maple Leafs signed. He's scored. He's won faceoffs. He's gone to the net. He's worked. He's taken responsibility. He's shown up every day and acted like a captain.

Now he's older. His skating might not be what it once was. That's not exactly a shocking development. But it doesn't erase what has always made him effective.

But there is something else happening. Tavares has accepted that his role has to change. He's helping younger players. He's adapting to what coaches ask him to do. He doesn't seem particularly interested in complaining about whether he's on the top line or playing a supporting role.

That's leadership too. And maybe that's the part Leafs fans will appreciate more once he's gone.

Greatness Isn't Always About the Numbers.

Tavares isn't going to finish his Toronto career as the player he was when he arrived. Nobody should expect that. But I suspect that when people look back years from now, they'll remember something bigger than his declining speed or the final years of his contract.

They'll remember that John Tavares came home. They'll remember that he helped turn the Maple Leafs from an interesting young team into an organization that expected to compete. And they'll remember how he conducted himself.

Tavares Will Go Down as a Maple Leafs Great.

Maybe not because he was the greatest player Toronto ever had. But because, when the Maple Leafs needed someone to believe in what they were becoming, John Tavares did.