A rebound season from John Tavares could result in the Leafs winning their division this season

Since signing with the Leafs for 7 years at $77 million back in July of 2018, Leafs captain John Tavares has been a huge piece of the core group in Toronto. Unfortunately, the lack of playoff success has lead to a lot of scrutiny from the media on Tavares in his time as a Leaf. The expectations have always been high for the 2014 All-Star because that's what it's like to play in Toronto. Maybe if "Johnny Toronto" has a bounce back season, it will restore faith in the fanbase and in the media that the former Islander has plenty of quality hockey left to offer. A bounce back season could also result in the Buds winning their division and putting them in a great spot for the playoffs.

Tavares, 31, is coming off a season that saw him play at just about a point per game, scoring 27 goals and amassing 49 assists for 76 points in 79 games, which isn't bad at all for a second line center - especially after the injury he suffered in last year's playoffs against the Montreal Canadians. That concussion alone could have been and probably was the cause of Johnny's "down" year. After all, his summer training last year was stunted because of it, and while Tavares was able to enter training camp at 100%, he was certainly less during the remainder of the summer.

Being in a healthier state of mind this off-season surely shows that Tavares has recovered fully from his injury and he should be set up well for a rebound season this year. His comments at a recent charity event for the Marner Assist Foundation also revealed that Tavares feels much better this summer than he did last summer, which bodes well for the Buds.

Clinching the Atlantic Division would be huge, setting them up to face a bubble team like Boston, Ottawa or maybe even Detroit in round one, instead of a bona-fide killer like the Tampa Bay Lightning. If the Buds could find themselves in a position against one of those teams, they shouldn't have any problem getting out of the first round. "Shouldn't" being the operative word.


A healthy Tavares this summer could mean a return to the form we saw when JT posted 47 goals and 88 points in his breakout season with the Leafs in his first season in Toronto. If the Leafs want to ensure that they have the best chance of making that happen, maybe a reunion with Mitch Marner to start the season is a good idea. Getting out to a hot start could make all the difference at the end of the season. Instead of chasing a top team in the standings, perhaps they will have banked enough points to comfortably win the division, even if they slip or stumble at points throughout the year.