Insider Asks the Difficult Question: What Has Happened to John Tavares?

When John Tavares extended with the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer, everyone around the hockey world was in agreement that it was a very team-friendly deal, which has almost never been the case for Toronto and its top talent.

An incredible first 21 games of the season only reinforced that, though ever since, the veteran center appears to have hit a wall—and the numbers aren’t pretty. Tavares has produced at under a 50-point pace in the 49 games since, while sporting a -31 rating along the way. It hasn’t been talked about all that much, though Sportsnet insider Nick Kypreos pointed it out on Friday, adding that he can no longer be relied upon as a top-six center.

Kypreos said:

“The question is, where is Tavares at in terms of production right now? Can we just recall what a great start he had this season? Everybody was talking about whether he could get into the conversation for Team Canada, as you mentioned. But what is going on the last little while, and particularly that -31? Which is, I think at last count, around 831st worst in the league. Granted, the guy is on the ice for probably half of them with empty-net goals. But still, it’s not a good look for a guy who is still typically known as a top-six forward… I don’t ever see him being a solid second-line centerman again,”

The 36-year-old Tavares is in year one of the four-year, $17,557,120 extension he signed with the Maple Leafs this offseason. He’s tallied 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) and has a -28 rating through 70 games played this season.