{"id":929074,"date":"2026-10-11T14:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/929074\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T14:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:00:14","slug":"sunday-overreactions-time-for-maple-leafs-to-shift-tavares-to-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/929074\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Overreactions:\u00a0Time for Maple Leafs to shift Tavares to wing"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one could ever accuse\u00a0John Tavares<\/a>\u00a0of not being\u00a0a loyal\u00a0Toronto Maple Leaf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the prime of his career,\u00a0when he was one of the best players in the National Hockey League, he chose Toronto.\u00a0Yes, he was paid\u00a0handsomely to do so, but the importance of the decision should not be lost on the Maple Leafs or the city.\u00a0It hasn\u2019t always been easy for teams\u00a0across all sports in Toronto\u00a0to land\u00a0high-end\u00a0free agents, and that includes the Leafs.\u00a0Tavares’ arrival\u00a0also changed the trajectory of the franchise.\u00a0Auston Matthews\u00a0brought the Leafs back to relevance, but the endorsement from Tavares signalled\u00a0they would stay that way for the next\u00a0decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tavares has been a great pro. He wore the ‘C’ with pride and then\u00a0passed it on to Matthews without hesitation when the time was right.\u00a0He gave the Leafs an incredible deal on his latest contract\u00a0and is now housing rookie Gavin McKenna. Even through all the bitter early playoff exits, Tavares\u2019 belief in the team remains unwavering.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that\u2019s why asking Tavares to move to the wing\u00a0isn\u2019t the easiest conversation\u00a0for the Leafs to have.\u00a0At 36, Tavares has been on borrowed time as a top-six centre for a couple of years\u00a0and we know Father Time is undefeated, but replacing him isn\u2019t easy \u2014 both emotionally and practically.\u00a0Toronto has likely tried to find an upgrade\u00a0in past summers and trade deadlines to no avail.\u00a0Top-six centres don\u2019t grow\u00a0on\u00a0trees, which is why the fact that Tavares has been able to fill the role for as long as he has\u00a0is invaluable to the Maple Leafs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Normally a strong starter, Tavares has looked a step behind this season. Maybe it\u2019s because of the short pre-season, but the duties of a centre are\u00a0tough\u00a0for anyone \u2014 even for someone who keeps himself in top shape like Tavares.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now is the time for\u00a0Maple Leafs\u00a0to\u00a0move Tavares to the wing<\/p>\n

Tavares was never fleet of foot,\u00a0and he\u2019s even less so now at 36. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean he still can\u2019t be a productive player, given\u00a0his savvy and hockey IQ. But navigating the centre position, which places an emphasis on skating, is becoming more challenging.\u00a0Tavares cleared 22 m.p.h.\u00a0in skating speed on four different occasions last year,\u00a0though he\u2019s failed to get there this season, according to NHL EDGE<\/a>. That puts him under the 50th\u00a0percentile range as a skater\u00a0in the league.\u00a0The Leafs having him out there Thursday trying to keep\u00a0up with Jack Eichel, who is one of the best at his craft and a great skater, was setting Tavares up to fail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Assignments like that have\u00a0forced\u00a0Tavares\u00a0into\u00a0spending more time in the defensive zone this year.\u00a0He\u2019s been outscored\u00a06-3 at 5-on-5 and is losing the shot battle 40-31. Now, not all of that is on him,\u00a0as he\u2019s\u00a0played\u00a0primarily\u00a0with William Nylander and Gavin McKenna this\u00a0season, neither of whom are stout defensively.\u00a0Still, asking Tavares to patrol the middle of the ice between these two just makes things more problematic given his speed.\u00a0It may finally be time to shift him over to the wing and adjust the forward lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s make one thing perfectly clear here: this isn\u2019t as much an indictment of Tavares\u2019 play as it is of the Maple Leafs not addressing the issue sooner.\u00a0Tavares can\u2019t help his age and he\u2019s played admirably over the past couple of years, even while losing a step.\u00a0He\u2019s recorded north of 70 points\u00a0and 30 goals\u00a0in two straight seasons and held down the fort early in 2025-26 when the Leafs were decimated with injuries.\u00a0Moving him to the wing\u00a0would be a step toward ensuring he can continue with that production, as there\u2019s no denying Tavares is still a good net-front player who can score. Reducing his role would free him up to do more of what he does best. Essentially, it would accentuate his positives while masking\u00a0areas where he\u2019s no longer as strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0thing the Leafs do have going for them is they brought in a couple of quality centres this off-season, which is why now might be the perfect time to make the move. Granted, neither Nick Paul or Colton Sissons are ideal top-six options, but there should be a world where the Leafs can create three formidable lines that can be comfortably rolled out with all the talent they have up front.\u00a0We got a glimpse of what that might look like Saturday night with Tavares out of\u00a0the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche\u00a0and the Leafs came away with a 6-3 victory.\u00a0It was\u00a0only\u00a0one game and it wasn\u2019t perfect by any means,\u00a0but\u00a0Toronto beat one of the best teams in the NHL with Bo Groulx in the top nine. It would be\u00a0wise\u00a0to get\u00a0a longer look at Matthews, Paul and Sissons down the middle when Tavares comes back. The Leafs would be even more flexible and\u00a0be tougher to defend\u00a0in this scenario with Tavares playing wing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You wouldn\u2019t want to lose Tavares\u2019 ability in the face-off circle, as he\u2019s still\u00a0one of the best in the league and he proved it earlier this week against Nashville, going 16-for-17 from the dot.\u00a0Tavares could still take face-offs on a line where Paul\u00a0or Sissons\u00a0is playing centre let\u2019s say, but\u00a0positionally,\u00a0one of those\u00a0two\u00a0would take on the role\u00a0of the heavy lifting when it comes\u00a0to centre responsibilities defensively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This would allow Tavares to play more of a net-front role or down low behind the goal line where he can thrive instead\u00a0of having to worry about being the first forward back all the time.\u00a0I\u2019ll leave it to Jim Hiller to put together an optimal forward lineup, but if you have Matthews, Paul and Sissons down the middle, and\u00a0some combination of\u00a0Tavares,\u00a0Nylander, McKenna, Kirill Marchenko, Jack Roslovic\u00a0and\u00a0Easton\u00a0Cowan\u00a0on the wing, the Leafs should be able to\u00a0build something that\u2019s eluded them for a decade: three balanced lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rick Tocchet\u00a0could be on the hot seat<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>‘ surprising run to the post-season last spring was a great story, but it also\u00a0brought with it the weight of expectations.\u00a0Philly\u2019s rebuild was accelerated and now\u00a0a\u00a0slow start has some hitting the panic button.\u00a0The Flyers are still winless on the season\u00a0and have been outscored\u00a024-7\u00a0and outshot 219-121\u00a0in\u00a0six\u00a0games, putting the focus on Rick Tocchet to turn things around quickly.\u00a0Typically,\u00a0coaches that are on the hot seat are not those from teams that aren\u2019t expected to push for the playoffs. The ones that are in trouble\u00a0tend to be from squads\u00a0that are expected to take a step forward,\u00a0and based on what the Flyers did last season, missing the playoffs should be deemed unacceptable.\u00a0If Tocchet doesn\u2019t turn things around soon, he could be in trouble.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just that\u00a0the Flyers are winless on the season, it\u2019s the fact that their brand of hockey has been so uninspiring.\u00a0Philadelphia has posted fewer than 20 shots in\u00a0four\u00a0of its\u00a0six\u00a0contests\u00a0and has allowed\u00a0an average\u00a0of 36\u00a0shots per game, last in the league.\u00a0Plus, there\u2019s\u00a0been\u00a0the\u00a0questionable\u00a0usage of\u00a0rookie\u00a0Porter Martone. Last season, Martone burst onto the scene with 10 points in the Flyers’ final\u00a0nine\u00a0games and added two more goals in the playoffs. He was supposed to\u00a0be a huge driving force for Philly this season but is only playing\u00a0about\u00a013 minutes per\u00a0night. Every team goes through rough stretches at points of a long season, but most coaches won\u2019t be\u00a0able\u00a0to survive the level of futility the Flyers have displayed thus far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul Cotter<\/a> could fetch a first-round pick at the deadline if he continues his strong play<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t stop Paul Cotter, you can only hope to contain him. Apparently. Cotter exploded out of the gates, with four goals and six points in the first\u00a0six\u00a0games of the season for the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>. I don\u2019t think people thought much about the Canucks signing Cotter to a one-year deal this summer, though he\u2019s been a catalyst for a team that is supposed to be rebuilding\u00a0but\u00a0instead started out\u00a0playing\u00a0some very exciting\u00a0hockey.\u00a0Vancouver has quickly come back down to earth, though, and\u00a0most people still think the Canucks are going to be major sellers come the trade deadline. If Cotter continues to excel, could he fetch the Canucks a first-round pick?<\/p>\n

It would be a dream scenario for Vancouver, but it feels highly unlikely. Cotter definitely has a skillset that translates well to post-season\u00a0play, as he has a high motor and loves to throw hits. With that said, players like that are typically a dime a dozen come the deadline and it\u2019s hard to imagine Cotter sustaining this level of offence all the way to\u00a0March. He\u2019s only broken 10 goals in a season twice in his career and right now Cotter is shooting 57 per cent, which is going to plummet sooner rather than later. There\u2019s certainly going to be a market for the Canucks to flip Cotter at the deadline, just don\u2019t expect it to be for a massive return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexis Lafreniere will finally have a breakout season<\/p>\n

Could this be the year? New York Rangers<\/a> fans have been waiting for Alexis\u00a0Lafreniere\u00a0to have a breakout campaign since he was drafted first overall in 2020, but he\u2019s never quite put all the pieces together.\u00a0He\u2019s flirted with it before, as Lafreniere has two seasons where he put up 57 points, including one that came with a playoff run of 14 points in 18 games.\u00a0Lafreniere looks like he may be taking another step now, though. He has\u00a0six\u00a0points in\u00a0six\u00a0games, including a hat trick in a victory over the rival New York Islanders.\u00a0There are signs that this could be the year where Lafreniere finally reaches 30 goals and finishes closer to 70 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The biggest\u00a0change in Lafreniere\u2019s game this season may be the absence of Artemi Panarin. It sounds weird to say that\u00a0losing a highly skilled player like Panarin could be beneficial, but it\u2019s opening up more opportunities for Lafreniere.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0spent time\u00a0on the top line and\u00a0his ice time is up nearly three\u00a0minutes per game\u00a0from his career average. More specifically, Lafreniere is getting\u00a0over three minutes per game on the power play, which is\u00a0about a minute and a half more than he\u2019s received in past seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There were signs this was coming last year, too.\u00a0After\u00a0Panarin was traded, Lafreniere\u00a0tallied\u00a028 points in his final\u00a030\u00a0games. We can\u2019t expect Lafreniere to score at close to a point per game pace throughout an entire 84-game season, though it\u2019s reasonable to think he could\u00a0land somewhere in the 65-70 range if he continues to take advantage of all the additional opportunities he\u2019s getting.\u00a0With Igor Shesterkin now out for season, if the Rangers are going to make any noise this year, it\u2019s going to be highly dependent on Lafreniere having a huge year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lack of defensive depth\u00a0will prevent Ducks from returning to playoffs<\/p>\n

The Anaheim Ducks<\/a>\u00a0were one of the league\u2019s\u00a0most surprising stories last season, finally\u00a0ending a lengthy playoff drought\u00a0as\u00a0Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier enjoyed breakout seasons. Not only\u00a0that, the Ducks toppled\u00a0Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, too. Suffice it to say expectations\u00a0were high for Anaheim heading into this season.\u00a0However, if there\u2019s one thing that could derail the Ducks it\u2019s their depth on the blue line.\u00a0Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger and Radko Gudas have departed, forcing players like Tyson Hinds\u00a0and Noah Warren into more featured roles.\u00a0The Ducks\u00a0look good\u00a0so far\u00a0and have\u00a0started strong, but you could certainly see a scenario where their inexperience on the back end could make returning to the playoffs challenging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anaheim\u2019s\u00a0defence corps may have some learning on the fly to do, but the one thing the Ducks have going for them is they play in the very friendly Pacific Division. Vancouver, Calgary and Seattle don\u2019t figure to be in playoff contention this season\u00a0and\u00a0it remains to be\u00a0seen how much of a jump the\u00a0San Jose Sharks\u00a0can make. Plus, the Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights all have their flaws as well. The division is wide open.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if Anaheim\u2019s defence may be lacking in certain areas, it still boasts a lot of good talent up front. Beckett Sennecke\u00a0and Mikael Granlund are a nice complement\u00a0to Gauthier and Carlsson, giving the Ducks a top six that can rival most teams in the league.\u00a0I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s going to be easy for the Ducks to cruise back to the playoffs, but it would not surprise me if they\u2019re playing hockey again next spring after navigating through\u00a0arguably the weakest\u00a0division in hockey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No one could ever accuse\u00a0John Tavares\u00a0of not being\u00a0a loyal\u00a0Toronto Maple Leaf.\u00a0 In the prime of his career,\u00a0when he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-929074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}