Unfortunately for us Islander's fans, John Tavares has been virtually invisible since his player of the month outburst. Personally, I'm very unhappy about it. It couldn't have happened at a worse time.
First let me state, JT is my favorite Islander, has been since we got him. He's been one of my favorite players, had his hockey cards from his Oshawa days.
That being said, I've been one of the few who refused to anoint him as the NHL's next GREAT player, because I was concerned about his scoring consistency. Unfortunately I was right.
In 14 games in February he had 3 goals and 5 assists. 2 of those goals and 1 assist came in 1 game. So in 13 other games, he was 1-4-5, that just isn't enough.
Granted, it isn't all about stats. Does he play hard every game, no doubt (so does Martin and Hamonic, but they aren't supposed stars), is he keyed upon every game by other teams defensive players ? Sure. But great players fight through that. Great players consistently score. At this point, Tavares is too much of a streaky player to be considered great.
First 4 games 5 g 3 a 8 points.
Last 15 games 3 g 5 a 8 points.
In between 45 games 17 g 28 a 45 points. BUT, that included his January where he went 13 games 9 g 13 a 22 points. SO, his prior 32 games he went 8g 15 a 23 points. Way too streaky to be considered great. Especially at crunch time where he needed to be clutch, he's got 3 goals in his last 15 games.
The way it's going right now, with 18 games left, he would need 4 goals and 2 assists to just tie last season. I don't see him surpassing last seasons stats by much, which would be a big disappointment to me.
how can you nitpick Tavares? they guy is always working and plays hard, he obviously cares about winning and what has management done to help him? ZERO!
One thing that has bothered me about this season was the way that Snow/Wang/Capuano handles the goalie situation. if they rode Montoya early, when he was on fire would we have had that terrible start? i doubt it i think we probably would have been in the playoffs if they didnt extinguish Big Al early on.
would a real coach do that? hell no! was it his call? probably not, but thats why they hire these puppets. anyway i guess im saying that the last place anyone should point a finger is at Mr. T
The op never said he was a issue at all. He just said he was worried about his stats and consistency. I can totally see his point and understand his concern
I have only noticed the last 2 games he has been "tired" looking....he still doesnt make mistakes.. He just does not look like his usually explosive self on every shift....We need a Star winger that can take some off the pressure off of John......He puts 110% into all 3 zones and I think its catching up to him.......
Tavares has scoring chances virtually every game, both to finish and setting up his teammates. If he were not creating these multiple chances I would be as concerned as you are.
Every one of the top scorers has gone through dry periods this year. Not sure about Malkin but Toews went like 12 games until he scored against us. Iknow that Giroux went 14 games without a goal, now Briere has gone 17 without a goal. Perry was in an early season slimp or two and Getzlaf is just off his game entirely this year scoring wise.
These are just some examples. One commen thing to understand is that all off these scorers play with much better, more complete linemates, so the chances for them to score are greater than JT's which contributes to some of his fallow times.
Watch what JT does in the Worlds when he has some wingers who can skate/finish/crash/pass, just like he has done in the past two World's.
Every player goes through a dry spell, no one scores every game.
OV with 26 goals, Kovy with 26?
February has been slow for JT who does look tired in the sense of energy. last night he was as fast a player as there was on the ice with the exception of #40.
As he matures, and as the support around him improves, his dry spells will be shorter and shorter and less often.
I have only noticed the last 2 games he has been "tired" looking....he still doesnt make mistakes.. He just does not look like his usually explosive self on every shift....We need a Star winger that can take some off the pressure off of John......He puts 110% into all 3 zones and I think its catching up to him.......
This is exactly right. The guy plays through double coverage night in and night out and still manages to lead the team in points. He absolutely needs another offensive threat on his line to loosen up the coverage a bit.
I mean what do you think every team that plays the Isles game plan is. Shut down Tavares and we win the game. Period.
As long as he his work ethic is still there, which it is. like others have said, we have a long list of problems before I would even worry about JT's "inconsistency"
It's two things that I see...one, since he's gotten league-wide notice, other teams have planned their strategy around stopping him. He has no room out there anymore, and he'd be more than happy to dish the puck to his linemates, but they're standing still more often than not. If there was anyone else on the team that opposing coaches had to plan for, Tavares would have more room.
Two, He needs a banger on that line who can fight along the boards so he does not have to. His game shouldn't be grinding in the corners. It should be making magic happen from the circles-down. But if he doesn't fight in the corners, who will? Moulson? Parenteau? Unfortunately, aside from being the best playmaker, best stickhandler, and (never thought I'd say this) fastest skater on his line, he's also the toughest player and best worker along the boards.
Reading this over, I guess the overriding theme here is Tavares adds a lot to improving the overall game of his linemates, but I'm not sure if they add a lot to maximizing JT's potential or improving his overall game.
I don't think that was the point. Either Moulson or PA on a line with JT is fine, imo. Both at once is a bit of a problem. Which of those two players is supposed to be the gritty one that fights along the boards and digs the puck out to the others? Neither...it's Tavares, and his abilities could be put to far better use elsewhere, like in the high or low slot.
how can you nitpick Tavares? they guy is always working and plays hard, he obviously cares about winning and what has management done to help him? ZERO!
One thing that has bothered me about this season was the way that Snow/Wang/Capuano handles the goalie situation. if they rode Montoya early, when he was on fire would we have had that terrible start? i doubt it i think we probably would have been in the playoffs if they didnt extinguish Big Al early on.
would a real coach do that? hell no! was it his call? probably not, but thats why they hire these puppets. anyway i guess im saying that the last place anyone should point a finger is at Mr. T
jt is great. The thread author also clearly states that. This is not a personal attack on jt!
But, he hasnt been able to hold his pace. God thanks Howie and Butch arent constantly quoting that stupid "marginally talented jt" crap anymore, cause he aint giving them as much reason to make fun of that article anymore. I can see that...cheers to the author for going to the "dirty" areas and saying what he is thinking, even though he knew it wouldnt be popular.
The media (isles, canada, nhl) are trying to sell this: elite hockey player jt thing. But it isnt that simple. God thanks hockey is more complex than that. I dont know especially much about hockey, so i will let others here discuss what elements of jt's game have been hindered more effectively over the last month than in january.
I know I am being redundant but I have no worries with JT but rather the team around him. Every team keys on him, double teams him, hits him too often.. It is obvious he is a bit worn down, it is not just his line but the fact the other lines haven't taken the pressure off him, allowing him to be keyed on. Also we need size, size and more size to keep other teams from pushing us around and wearing us down in general.
I have only noticed the last 2 games he has been "tired" looking....he still doesnt make mistakes.. He just does not look like his usually explosive self on every shift....We need a Star winger that can take some off the pressure off of John......He puts 110% into all 3 zones and I think its catching up to him.......
he does often take long shifts as well. Especially in the "crunch time" 3rd periods. I have often heard commentators say that the length of the single shifts is actually more significant than the overall TOI for the "freshness" of a player. Somethings gotta give if you keep on throwing jt in at the toughest times.
It's two things that I see...one, since he's gotten league-wide notice, other teams have planned their strategy around stopping him. He has no room out there anymore, and he'd be more than happy to dish the puck to his linemates, but they're standing still more often than not. If there was anyone else on the team that opposing coaches had to plan for, Tavares would have more room.
Two, He needs a banger on that line who can fight along the boards so he does not have to. His game shouldn't be grinding in the corners. It should be making magic happen from the circles-down. But if he doesn't fight in the corners, who will? Moulson? Parenteau? Unfortunately, aside from being the best playmaker, best stickhandler, and (never thought I'd say this) fastest skater on his line, he's also the toughest player and best worker along the boards.
Reading this over, I guess the overriding theme here is Tavares adds a lot to improving the overall game of his linemates, but I'm not sure if they add a lot to maximizing JT's potential or improving his overall game.
I think bailey may be a shrewd choice for jts wing. He is relatively strong along the boards, good skater, shows poise right now in the offensive zone. It may well not work, but what do we have to lose now? Now is the time for experiments.
However, the isles will not want to allienate PaP right now. If they plan on resigning him (which i hope they do now that they didnt trade him), then it would probably help to give him the impression that he would be a part of jt's line. Replacing him with bailey may rub off negatively on the contract talks.
Flyers fan with a soft spot for the Isles, but JT is awesome! He looked fantastic last night and set up some great chances. JT and Nabakov are what is right with your team at the moment; hopefully Nabakov stays and they both get some help next year. You guys deserve a playoff run (and arena, GM, Owner, etc).
Keep your chin up and thanks for sending us my favorite AHL character guy, Joel Rechlicz.
