John Tavares is a Maple Leaf

[princedpw]

Absolutely Fantastic!! I told my 12 year old son that there hasn?t  been a better time to be a Leafs fan in the past 50 years, and that was after they won the draft lottery and selected Auston Matthews. Then they get the the most sought after coach, find that allusive #1 goaltender and now sign the biggest free agent available in years. Probably the biggest in Leafs history. This team feels destined to make history !! Today is a special day for Leafs Nation. Feels damn good after decades of heartbreak, to finally have one of the best teams in the league, with so much talent and promise!!

I agree wholeheartedly.  Still, I think Tampa, with their D, retains an edge over us.  It is a shame about the way the playoffs are set up.

 

[Kin]

So something I've been thinking about for a while as this all happened, even as I was pretty sure he wasn't coming here, was that something that makes Toronto different from probably every other city is that when there's a young kid in the city who's clearly going to be a top flight NHLer it becomes sort of this weird secret that gets passed around. The minor hockey system being what it is you start hearing about these guys when they're 14 or 15, maybe younger, and they develop an almost mythic quality to them.

Really, in my lifetime, it's happened three times to a major extent. Lindros, Tavares and McDavid. To finally have one of those guys on the Leafs and in their prime is pretty surreal.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Fun fact: I had this thread with this title on my browser ready to be posted since I woke up at like 9:30am.

 

[ZBBM]

So I guess now the expectations to, you know, actually win a playoff round have ramped up a notch.  The pressure is on and no excuses from here on out.

 

[Zee]

Thrashing the Habs on opening night is gonna feel so good

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Fun fact: I had this thread with this title on my browser ready to be posted since I woke up at like 9:30am.

Funner fact - I'm not wearing pants, and have no plans to for the rest of the day.

 

[ZBBM]

Fun fact: I had this thread with this title on my browser ready to be posted since I woke up at like 9:30am.

So that's why you deleted my bold, and as it turns out, prescient thread.  OK then. 

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Fun fact: I had this thread with this title on my browser ready to be posted since I woke up at like 9:30am.

So that's why you deleted my bold, and as it turns out, prescient thread.  OK then. 

I was definitely taking this one

 

[ZBBM]

Fun fact: I had this thread with this title on my browser ready to be posted since I woke up at like 9:30am.

So that's why you deleted my bold, and as it turns out, prescient thread.  OK then. 

I was definitely taking this one

You deserve it man.  Start dreaming up your first GDT.

 

[Zee]

https://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod/status/1013484441120006144

If true, we can finally say it wasn't 100% about money. He chose to come here to fulfill a dream

 

[rdowdall]

Fun fact: I had this thread with this title on my browser ready to be posted since I woke up at like 9:30am.

So that's why you deleted my bold, and as it turns out, prescient thread.  OK then. 

I was definitely taking this one

You deserve it man.  Start dreaming up your first GDT.

Winger - 1st Line Center - Winger
Winger - Another 1st Line Center - Winger
Winger - A pretty good second line center - Winger
Winger - Someone needed to avoid the need for an oxygen tank - Winger

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

So two first overall picks in the lineup.  Has that ever happened before?

 

[rdowdall]

So two first overall picks in the lineup.  Has that ever happened before?

I'm pretty sure the Oilers had like 7 at one point.

 

[Kin]

So two first overall picks in the lineup.  Has that ever happened before?

On the Leafs? Clark and Sundin, for one. Sundin and Nolan, for another.

 

[Joe S.]

OK guys, settle down.

They haven?t signed a 4C that?s to our liking yet.

Thread winner.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/KPapetti/status/1013486431266885633

My god. I forgot about 3-on-3.

 

[Kin]

So two first overall picks in the lineup.  Has that ever happened before?

On the Leafs? Clark and Sundin, for one. Sundin and Nolan, for another.

Sundin and Lindros! I can keep going.

Actually, the 99-00 Leafs had Sundin, Clark and Berard!

 

[Phileas Fogg]

heh. Although I was never too pleased with Kadri's play on the 3-3. Replace with Kapanen.

 

[rdowdall]

From that MLHS article:

"Mike Babcock has used Tavares on the wing next to Sidney Crosby or Ryan Getzlaf for Team Canada in the past, and he also would split up or unite Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk as he saw fit in Detroit. In general, it?s not uncommon with great center-center hockey duos, past and present, to have one ride shotgun with the other. What a Tavares-Matthews-Nylander/Marner shift would look like as far as the puck control sequences in the offensive zone boggles the mind, not to mention a potential Tavares-Matthews-Marner / Rielly-Nylander top power play unit."

 

[Kin]

So two first overall picks in the lineup.  Has that ever happened before?

On the Leafs? Clark and Sundin, for one. Sundin and Nolan, for another.

Sundin and Lindros! I can keep going.

Actually, the 99-00 Leafs had Sundin, Clark and Berard!

Clark and Ramage!

...but I think that's it.