John Tavares' production is forcing the Maple Leafs to revisit a former trade target
Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs forward John Tavares' offense hasn't been as elite as Toronto had hoped so perhaps they could slide him to the wing and revisit a Brayden Schenn deal.
Last season one of the biggest surprises of the Maple Leafs' fairly successful season was the play of John Tavares. At 34 years old he came out with a vengeance and put up 74 points in 75 games and being part of a lethal Toronto power-play.
2025-26 is a different story though and while Tavares is still putting in very solid numbers it's not the level of production the team needs from their former captain.
With a playoff push on the horizon the team needs as much firepower as possible which means they could go back to an old deal they flirted with last year and trade for Brayden Schenn.
Toronto can help John Tavares by trading for Brayden Schenn
If the team was able to do so, then it could be a key to unlocking Tavares' elite offense again while also giving him a much needed respite from his truckload of responsibilities.
Schenn could come in and relieve Tavares on the 2C without sacrificing the defense or face-off talent plus give the Maple Leafs much more physicality up the middle.
Tavares sliding to the wing would give him less defensive responsibility and let him focus on transition offense.
We know how good he can be when he can break out, and being on the wing and taking a pass then being able to gain entry and fight for possession means that his linemates like Schenn and William Nylander can benefit from potential 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 opportunities.
Toronto will still pay a lot for Brayden Schenn....but this year might be worth it
Toronto already has a lot of interest in Schenn and even tried dangling their last two prospects for him last year. His price has seemingly dropped as it's not going to take as much to get him but it'll still be a fair amount.
Schenn, 34, has 704 points in 1,039 games and while he's struggled offensively this season is still a perennial 55-60 point scorer while adding at least 100 hits and winning 48.4% of his face-offs for his career.
He can play both penalty kill and the power-play, take more defensive face-offs to give not only Tavares but also Auston Matthews a break and his familiarity with Craig Berube and success under him only makes this an even more logical partnership.
Tavares re-signed this season on a bargain deal in order to finish his career (presumably) with Toronto and the team needs to maximize his potential before he really starts regressing and costing them more than he's giving them.
This year is something of a miraculous one considering where the team had been merely a month ago. Schenn isn't a guarantee but rarely are trade acquisitions.
But he's as good as any, and if he can be the one who helps John Tavares regain his elite form by proxy then the price to pay is going to be worth it.
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