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There could come a time — maybe quickly — when John Tavares is requested a most uncomfortable query.
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Is the captain of the Maple Leafs prepared to make a most unselfish gesture and waive his no-trade association?
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The query could come earlier than this season ends. Or it could come after the season, ought to Tavares’ troubles muddle on for the remainder of this marketing campaign.
Tavares is within the worst stoop of his profession. After principally being some extent a recreation participant for his first 382 video games as a Maple Leafs, he has dropped considerably within the final quarter of the season.
Tavares hasn’t scored or arrange a lot over the previous 20 video games. Heading into Saturday evening in Vancouver, he had 12 factors in that quarter, so few of these coming at even power.
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He has not been a harmful participant in most of this, his fifteenth NHL season, at a time when his linemates — both William Nylander or Mitch Marner — have been largely productive and he hasn’t essentially been. His lack of productiveness has put the Leafs in a state of affairs that applies not simply to this season, however to subsequent 12 months, and any future past that.
If that is Tavares now, who will he be in 12 months 16, the final 12 months on his seven-year, $11 million AAV contract with the Leafs? And the way will the Leafs be capable of advance to the subsequent stage with a view to turn into playoff-competitive if his play doesn’t step up?
The contract hasn’t labored out effectively for Toronto, however that’s extra circumstantial, and COVID- and wage cap-related than the rest. Tavares has largely delivered at a point-a-game tempo. He isn’t spectacular the best way Auston Matthews or Nylander might be spectacular. He isn’t game-changing the best way Marner can typically be game-changing.
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The Leafs and their captain are in a troublesome place, collectively, with at the least one facet pondering what the longer term could carry.
THIS AND THAT
The Dallas Cowboys have seven gamers going to the Professional Bowl. The Inexperienced Bay Packers have none. The Packers blasted the Cowboys of their playoff matchup final week … The Maple Leafs have 4 gamers going to the NHL all-star recreation subsequent month. The Winnipeg Jets have one. The Leafs are struggling to seek out their means. The Jets are top-four within the NHL, 10 factors forward of Toronto, heading into Saturday’s motion … Mike McCarthy, with terrific regular-season numbers, might be again teaching the Cowboys subsequent season regardless of his playoff failures. Makes you wonder if Sheldon Keefe will get the McCarthy therapy, along with his spectacular regular-season numbers and playoff challenges with the Leafs. Didn’t suppose Jerry Jones would maintain McCarthy as his coach. I wouldn’t have. Undecided how lengthy Brad Treliving will proceed with Keefe ought to the Leafs not straighten themselves out … If Keefe does get bounced, the suspicion is assistant Man Boucher would exchange him as Toronto coach. He was virtually the Leafs coach earlier than they employed Mike Babcock. And this begs the query: What precisely outdoors of junior has Boucher ever gained? … How is it that Marner, who says he doesn’t observe media, is at all times conscious of what’s being mentioned concerning the Leafs regardless of foolishly commenting on his lack of consideration to what’s being mentioned? The best way the Leafs have performed an excessive amount of of this season, it’s greatest for Marner to maintain quiet … Nathan MacKinnon is beginning to draw back from the sphere within the Hart Trophy race because the NHL’s most dear participant. Matthews could rating near 70 targets, however he can’t be the MVP the best way his crew is enjoying. Sidney Crosby and Nikita Kucherov are in comparable positions in Pittsburgh and Tampa. Each are enjoying like MVPs, however their groups are not any positive factor to make the playoffs. Possibly Connor McDavid, profitable extra and scoring much less, in Edmonton will flip it up within the second half. This is able to make him a candidate once more. However nobody on a high crew is doing greater than MacKinnon, though Boston’s David Pastrnak will not be all that far behind.
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HEAR AND THERE
The Leafs performed the Oilers the opposite evening in as nice a hockey recreation as I’ve seen this season. I noticed it. Possibly you didn’t. Possibly it was blacked out in your space. This can be a built-in drawback for the NHL that must be mounted. Each recreation the Oilers and Leafs play with McDavid and Matthews must be nationwide TV. Each recreation, each time … Watching Matthews play and rating is a deal with. Few gamers in hockey historical past have ever scored as commonly as he does. Nobody in Leafs historical past ever has. Scoring extra is terrific, profitable extra typically can be even higher … Matthews leads the NHL in goal-scoring. That’s no shock. The shock? Sam Reinhart of Florida is second in targets, simply 4 behind Matthews. Reinhart leads all Canadians in targets as effectively. Second on the record of Canadian goal-scorers: Zach Hyman, simply barely forward of Crosby and MacKinnon … Those that insist Morgan Rielly is having his greatest NHL season ignore the actual fact he nonetheless will get scored on too typically. Rielly has been on the ice for 56 goals-scored at even power, however for 53 goals-against. By comparability, Norris Trophy favorite Quinn Hughes has been on the ice for 73 goals-for and simply 37 in opposition to … There’s not a single Toronto scorer within the high 20 of the PWHL, the place the Toronto crew with no title sits in final place … The truth of Canadian tennis proper now: No males or girls are contenders for singles titles in main tournaments. No Canadian in singles made the second week of the Australian Open … I’m beginning to marvel how lengthy Alexander Ovechkin should play if he’s hoping to cross Wayne Gretzky on the all-time NHL goal-scoring record. Ovi has one five-on-five aim previously 25 video games.
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SCENE AND HEARD
Not a lot has gone proper for the Blue Jays this low season, however they did get a superb one in signing Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodriguez. It’s not fairly clear the place Rodriguez will match with the Jays — both as a starter or within the bullpen — however he was Cuba’s No. 1 staring pitcher in final 12 months’s World Baseball Traditional. And he was probably the greatest aid pitchers in Japanese baseball earlier than sitting out final season. He is available in moderately cheap at $8 million a season for 4 years … The large Jays query, apart from an absence of offensive weapons, is what occurs with Alek Manoah when spring coaching begins. Who’s he? What’s going to he be? What can he be? Can he be the partaking younger man and dominating pitcher he was in his first two Blue Jays seasons? Or was final 12 months a brand new type of actuality? Manoah ought to get each alternative to seek out his means again, however with Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt within the Jays rotation, it’s not a determined state of affairs. If he finds his means into the rotation, terrific. If he doesn’t, a rotation of Gausman, Berrios, Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and presumably Rodriguez is considerably interesting as effectively. Beginning pitching is the one space the Jays shouldn’t have to fret about — which, by low season discuss, means they in all probability ought to fear. The potential for having Rodriguez and Manoah at the least provides the Jays choices, which they positively lack on the plate.
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RAPTORS AT A CROSSROADS
The primary seven seasons of Masai Ujiri in Toronto had been virtually taken as a right. All he did was win, set an agenda, develop a tradition, make onerous, robust selections, be a frontrunner in neighborhood, in society, and internationally, and produce the one NBA championship to a rustic which will by no means see one once more.
That’s a resume virtually unimaginable to match.
The Raptors performed .663 basketball in Ujiri’s first seven seasons on the job, and the sharpest of his determinations — to commerce for Kawhi Leonard, to exchange Dwane Casey with Nick Nurse as coach — had been franchise-changing.
The final 4 years haven’t been so variety to Ujiri or to Raptors followers. The .663 crew is enjoying .474 ball the previous 4 years. This 12 months, having dealt away Pascal Siakam to Indiana and O.G. Anunoby to New York, they’re all the way down to .381 basketball, the worst Raptors report since 2011.
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In making the Siakam and Anunoby offers, Ujiri didn’t simply commerce away two of one of the best draft picks he ever made, he traded them to Japanese Convention contenders. If Siakam finally ends up signing with the Pacers and Anunoby stays with the Knicks, that’s greater than making offers of comfort. That’s troubling — strengthening groups that you’ll have to compete with now and sooner or later.
And that’s in a convention that’s already stacked on the high with Boston, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
Ujiri drafted Gradey Dick this 12 months, which appears like a miss. He employed Darko Rajakovic this 12 months, which might be a miss. He in all probability waited too lengthy to commerce Siakam and Anunoby, perhaps a miss.
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No one wins ceaselessly in any sport. The Golden State Warriors don’t appear like a playoff crew proper now. The Detroit Pink Wings haven’t made the playoffs in eight years. The Pink Sox are flailing within the American League East. Now we get a brand new have a look at Ujiri after a lot success.
What now?
How lengthy earlier than the Raptors are a 50-win crew once more within the NBA? They’ve achieved it 5 instances with Ujiri, together with their championship season. What number of years ’til we see that once more?
AND ANOTHER THING
Pascal Siakam is uncommon by the requirements {of professional} sport at present. He was in all probability a greater individual than he was a participant for the Raptors — and he was a rattling good participant for the Raptors. He wished to be the face of the franchise. He wished to be among the many greatest gamers within the NBA. He believed he was going to be all that. He performed awfully effectively in his time in Toronto — simply not sufficient to be an NBA difference-maker, to alter the crew. He was extra complementary than he was sensible. However, actually, you couldn’t ask something extra of him. He did all he might. He pushed as onerous as he might. In the long run, paying him for his subsequent contract didn’t make enterprise sense for the Raptors. And none of that, one bubble playoff collection apart, ought to diminish his time with the Raps … Good persons are onerous to seek out in any sport. The Raptors had good individuals in Siakam and O.G. Anunoby. What they didn’t have was a high quality crew. It meant good individuals needed to go … The Knicks are 8-2 since bringing in Anunoby from the Raps … Brock Purdy has a 17-4 report as a beginning quarterback in two NFL seasons in San Francisco heading into Saturday evening’s playoff recreation. The quantity matches Patrick Mahomes’ starting in Kansas Metropolis. Not far behind them, the retired GOAT Tom Brady at 14-7. And forward of all of them, the doubtless NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who gained 18 of his first 21 NFL begins … Bo Levi Mitchell, by the best way, was 18-3 in his first CFL begins. And for some motive, all these years later, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in some way imagine he can nonetheless play … In case you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t win. Left within the NFL playoffs heading into the weekend, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jackson, Purdy, Jordan Love and the rookie C.J. Stroud. And in some way Baker Mayfield. The Chargers and Bengals missed the playoffs as a result of their starters, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, had been misplaced for the season … And no, I didn’t overlook Jared Goff. I’m simply undecided the place to rank him … Nearly everyone my age — and possibly your age, too — has a field of their home stuffed with a set of Sports activities Illustrated magazines. The writing was sensible. The images was even higher. I might by no means bear to throw them out, previous as they may have grown. And now that Sports activities Illustrated is not any extra, I’ve much more motive to carry on to them … Comfortable birthday to Jack Nicklaus (84), Ryan Reaves (37), Hakeem Olajuwon (61), Tyler Herro (24), Inge Hammarstrom (76), Kelly VanderBeek (41), Doug Weight (43), Dany Heatley (42), Ozzie Guillen (60), Hampus Lindholm (30), Detlef Schrempf (61) and Ivan Putski (83) … And hey, no matter grew to become of David Sales space?
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