Six years ago today, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas thought he hit a home run by signing unrestricted free agent John Tavares to a seven-year contract with a whopping $11 million average annual value. How did the Maple Leafs manage the signing of the year? Six years on, has the deal delivered? Is Toronto any closer to a Stanley Cup than they were then? Read on to find out.
How the Maple Leafs Signed Their Main Target
A freshly appointed Dubas knew he wanted to sign Tavares and took the means needed to seal the deal. The departing New York Islanders captain held court at the offices of Creative Artists Agency Sports along with agent Pat Brisson and fiancée Aryne Fuller.
Each suitor was allowed a two-hour meeting to make their case and attempt to charm Tavares into signing with them. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, and the Maple Leafs made their case for the “selection committee”.
Ultimately, it was almost an open-and-shut case. Tavares was itching to play for his hometown team, the team that was represented on the sheets in which he slept. To put it simply, playing in Toronto was a dream come true, and needed very little time to think it over and sign with the Maple Leafs.
Have the Deal and Player Delivered?
One of the main reasons Tavares left the Islanders was the lack of a supporting cast to help him go far in the playoffs. In nine seasons on Long Island, he had only played 24 playoff games and won a single playoff series.
Since he arrived in Toronto, the Maple Leafs have taken part in the playoffs every year and Tavares took part in 38 games. How many series did they win? Just the one, exactly the same as the Islanders did with Tavares in his nine years with the club.
However, it cannot possibly be down to a lack of supporting cast in Toronto. The Maple Leafs have got as much firepower as any team can have. On top of their captain’s big contract, they’ve also got Auston Matthews’, William Nylander’s, Mitch Marner’s and Morgan Rielly’s.
However, it takes more than scoring goals to win the Stanley Cup or even a playoff series. You’ve got to have a solid defence corps that doesn’t have the sole role of helping the power play when the team is on the man advantage.
Furthermore, you’ve also got to have some good goaltending to reach the holy grail of hockey. When you don’t have a solid number one and a backup who can play at the right level when needed, you will not get to drink out of the Stanley Cup and realize what victory tastes like.
If Tavares has failed to lead the Maple Leafs to the promised land, it’s not because he wasn’t given enough of a supporting cast, but rather too much of the same type of support, and that cannot be put on the captain’s shoulders. It’s all down to the management team.
Are the Maple Leafs Any Closer Than They Were to Winning the Cup Now?
Well, Rielly doesn’t think so, but I do. Listening to the team’s post-mortem with Brendan Shanahan, he finally appears ready to make the changes needed to turn this team into a real contender. He’s open to exploring dismantling his Core Four and that’s a start, but unfortunately, it might not be feasible.
The contracts handed out by Dubas handcuffed the team when it comes to trading any of their top four attackers since they’ve got a full no-movement clause. If you give those away like candy, you will shoot yourself in the foot badly if what you’ve put together does not work.
There were plenty of talks and rumours about trading Mitch Marner, but nothing has materialized yet and if they cannot trade him and use his cap hit to fill the holes they have in their lineup, they might fail once again this season, the last one of Tavares’ contract.
Related: Could Maple Leafs Repeat Kadri Mistake by Trading Marner?
If they don’t want to lose Marner for nothing, the Maple Leafs’ brass may just extend him and elect to fix the holes in their lineup next offseason, you know, when the captain’s contract is not on the books anymore. How ironic would that be? Tavares’ dream was to win a Cup with his hometown team. He might not have accomplished it, but he will have allowed them to learn a team must be built in a certain way to go all the way.
