Tavares
- Thread starter Kin
- Start date
Kin
Active member
Sometimes of course it helps to bring things that come with actual knowledge of the situation and context rather than simply regurgitating what other people write.
So, for instance, just saying the Islanders practice "in Long Island" isn't particularly helpful as Long Island, as the name implies, is a long island(that includes Brooklyn). To be specific the Islanders practice about 25 miles away from Barclays Center in the town of East Meadow which is part of Nassau County. Google says you can make the drive in about 50 minutes. Google also says, for what it's worth, that the drive from the Leafs practice facility in Etobicoke to the ACC in about 38 minutes. Call me a doubting Thomas but something tells me that the extra 10 or 15 minutes it takes to drive from the practice facility to the Arena isn't the biggest issue at play here.
Also, this isn't "strange" particularly. Brooklyn and New York real estate is some of the most expensive in the world. I doubt most teams have downtown practice facilities because of the cost. Again, the Leafs don't have one.
The issue with Tavares, as I said earlier in the thread, is that the Barclays Center is now acknowledged as a temporary home for the Islanders but the Islanders have never been able to make much progress in getting a new arena built in Nassau or Suffolk county. So where the Islanders will play long term is very much up in the air. For Tavares to make a long term commitment to the Islanders he probably wants to know where they'll be playing.
So, for instance, just saying the Islanders practice "in Long Island" isn't particularly helpful as Long Island, as the name implies, is a long island(that includes Brooklyn). To be specific the Islanders practice about 25 miles away from Barclays Center in the town of East Meadow which is part of Nassau County. Google says you can make the drive in about 50 minutes. Google also says, for what it's worth, that the drive from the Leafs practice facility in Etobicoke to the ACC in about 38 minutes. Call me a doubting Thomas but something tells me that the extra 10 or 15 minutes it takes to drive from the practice facility to the Arena isn't the biggest issue at play here.
Also, this isn't "strange" particularly. Brooklyn and New York real estate is some of the most expensive in the world. I doubt most teams have downtown practice facilities because of the cost. Again, the Leafs don't have one.
The issue with Tavares, as I said earlier in the thread, is that the Barclays Center is now acknowledged as a temporary home for the Islanders but the Islanders have never been able to make much progress in getting a new arena built in Nassau or Suffolk county. So where the Islanders will play long term is very much up in the air. For Tavares to make a long term commitment to the Islanders he probably wants to know where they'll be playing.
Sorry, I'm going to derail the conversation a little bit, because I really don't know what Tavares is going to do.
I was doing a comparison between Tavares and McDavid in the OHL. Both players were granted exceptional status and allowed to enter the OHL early. I find it interesting that McDavid was labelled as the next face of the NHL early in to his second year, while Tavares had a lot of hype around him, but I don't think anyone thought that he was going to be a player who would challenge Crosby as being the best player on the planet. Looking at Tavares second year in the OHL, he had 72 goals and 134 points in 67 games, whereas McDavid had 99 points in 56 games. Oshawa may have been a stronger team than Erie though.
One of the things that separates them is their skating, as Tavares was never known as being a dynamic skater, whereas that is one of McDavid's strengths. It's funny how scouts can look at a player that is as good as McDavid or Tavares and say one is a generational talent, whereas the other is a franchise center, but probably isn't going to be in the conversation for best player on the planet.
I was doing a comparison between Tavares and McDavid in the OHL. Both players were granted exceptional status and allowed to enter the OHL early. I find it interesting that McDavid was labelled as the next face of the NHL early in to his second year, while Tavares had a lot of hype around him, but I don't think anyone thought that he was going to be a player who would challenge Crosby as being the best player on the planet. Looking at Tavares second year in the OHL, he had 72 goals and 134 points in 67 games, whereas McDavid had 99 points in 56 games. Oshawa may have been a stronger team than Erie though.
One of the things that separates them is their skating, as Tavares was never known as being a dynamic skater, whereas that is one of McDavid's strengths. It's funny how scouts can look at a player that is as good as McDavid or Tavares and say one is a generational talent, whereas the other is a franchise center, but probably isn't going to be in the conversation for best player on the planet.
Kin
Active member
Significantly Insignificant said:
Obviously there's no way to really measure this and I guess I'd agree that by their draft years McDavid was definitely mentioned as part of that really special sort of generational talent in a way I guess Tavares wasn't but man, I remember there being a ton of hype surrounding Tavares.
For instance, there was definitely talk that if he'd been eligible for the '08 draft that he'd have gone #1. Maybe not Crosby-level but definitely, say, that one step below.
hockeyfan1
New member
Bullfrog said:
Thread posted circa 2016. At the time, he was in the fourth year of his contract set to become a UFA in 2018.
hockeyfan1
New member
Nik the Trik said:
And why regurgitate a thread when one already exists?
Your search skills need upgrading.
Kin
Active member
hockeyfan1 said:
I appreciate that paying attention to the finer points of things isn't your strong suit but the previous thread was in the media rumours section, which is where we talk about things mentioned in major media sources. This was posted to the General Rumours and Speculation board for, you know, general rumours and speculation. I didn't link to a media source because, again, I wasn't looking for people to comment on the veracity of a particular source or report but rather to foment a discussion on the general idea of Tavares coming to the team.
mr grieves
New member
Frank E said:
If they were somehow able to lure Tavares, I'd think they'd be freed up to move either Marner or Nylander for one of NSH or CAR's many top-pairing calibre defensemen... That's not quite Doughty or Karlsson, but it ain't far off.
LuncheonMeat
New member
mr grieves said:
If the Leafs were able to ice Matthews, Tavares and Kadri up the middle, I'm not really sure they'd need to add a first-pairing defenceman to be a serious threat to win. Doughty will be pushing 30 when he's available and will certainly want max term and probably at least $10 million/year. The way he plays I'm not sure he'll last that long, and that's a pretty big contract to hold. Karlsson is younger, but who knows how he holds up after his Achilles injury.
I don't see any reason to trade Marner or Nylander. The Leafs appear to be doing a credible job of drafting/developing defencemen, and I think we'll start to see more of them making the jump. I'd sign Tavares and take my chances.
herman
Well-known member
LuncheonMeat said:
Yup. Barring that, I'm in the camp that the Leafs need to bring in either a shutdowny centre (or two), or a cheaper-younger Bozak, more than they need to blow the cap/assets on D. Centres are hard to find, but easier and cheaper than RHD, especially if we don't need them to score. Tavares would be the optimal option as he can score heaps too, but Backlund is also of interest to me.
I think Zaitsev still has room to grow. He has the skill to do way more, but doesn't yet have the confidence to make those plays. Ozhiganov is already on his way in as another log in the jam, although he likely starts with the Marlies. Carrick is slowly proving he can be a serviceable 6/7th that fills in for one of the top-4 puck movers when they are injured. Dermott was already above Borgman on the chart, but both players have the LR flexibility, so no harm in keeping both.
mr grieves
New member
LuncheonMeat said:
I wasn't suggesting getting a Karlsson or Doughty.
I guess my thinking is that if the Leafs were to add Tavares to their group of forwards, they'd have a lot of cap dollars allocated to high-end talent up front... Two top-pick centers and three other excellent forwards in Marner, Nylander, and Kadri would be a lot -- you're definitely not re-signing Gardiner in that circumstance and the blueline looks weaker, so... trading one of Marner or Nylander for a Slavin, Faulk, Pesce, Ekholm, Lindholm, Manson doesn't seem crazy to me.
If they were to get Tavares.
Which they won't.
louisstamos
Active member
Zee said:
At least it's been relatively reserved thus far? Remember the Stamkos thread?