John Tavares showed he still has plenty left in the tank with solid 2024-25 season

Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares may be on the wrong side of 30, but he certainly didn’t play like it as he once again was one of the team’s most productive players in 2024-25.

His 74 points (38 goals and 36 assists) in 75 games played were good enough for fourth on the team in scoring, while his seven points (five goals and two assists) in 13 playoff games were fifth on the Leafs. He finished second on the team in goals both during the regular season and playoffs, with only William Nylander ahead of him. Tavares was the Leafs’ go-to faceoff guy with an impressive 58.3% efficiency that was also among the best in the NHL. All of this while during a contract year to wrap up the seven-year deal he signed with the Leafs back in 2018.

It would have been easy for him to be dissuaded from having given up the captaincy and handing it off to Auston Matthews.  He could have let the decision of being left off Canada’s roster at the 4 Nations Face-Off make him feel down on himself. Instead, he hunkered down and made the most of what he was capable of at this stage of his career while proving he is not ready to slow down anytime soon. And it sure seems like there is a good chance he could be re-upping with his boyhood team based on what was said by Tavares and Brad Treliving recently.

“There’s still [some] decisions to be made. I had some positive conversations with [Treliving] and [Berube] today, and I’m very optimistic that it can work out where I’m back,” he said on May 20th. “It’s an incredible place to play. Incredible fanbase. I love this team and so badly want to see it win. When it happens here again, it’s going to be something pretty remarkable, and you want to be a part of that.”

How the year went

On the whole, the season was about what you would expect from Tavares in terms of offensive production. He had 52 games where he had at least one point and never had a point drought of more than three games during the regular season. There were a few strong showings throughout the year with two hat tricks on the season, though his best individual night was on March 25th when he recorded four points against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It was a mostly healthy season for the alternate captain, save for a leg injury he suffered in January that resulted in him being placed on injured reserve and missing six games. Tavares was able to return to action before the 4 Nations break, where he put together his best stretch of the year with 14 points (seven goals and seven assists) in 14 games played between February 1st and March 13th. He may have been disappointed that he was unable to represent his country but the extended time off ended up paying dividends for the veteran.

He was most frequently lined up with William Nylander throughout the season and a revolving door of wingers. The most effective from a productive standpoint was Max Pacioretty, with the trio accounting for 12 goals at even strength during the regular season and six during the playoffs. That line was a major factor in why the Leafs were able to get past the Ottawa Senators in the first round and got out to the lead early in the second round against the Florida Panthers.

Tavares and Nylander also found good chemistry alongside Bobby McMann during the regular season, with 11 goals at even strength while generating the majority of shots and a fair share of puck possession. That success did not carry over during the playoffs, which cleared the way for Pontus Holmberg to get some looks on the second line. While he had his moments with the duo, there was not enough positive momentum on the offensive end.

The second round was not kind to Tavares as he only mustered up two goals across seven games, both of which came in Game 3 when the Leafs blew a chance to take a 3-0 series lead. He went pointless in the final four games of the series along with a combined -5, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying given he took 11 shots in that stretch.

Statistical profile

As mentioned earlier, Tavares had a solid season offensively speaking and was among the upper half of the Leafs’ scoring leaders. But the underlying metrics indicate that there was a bit of favourable luck involved, as his team had less puck possession, fewer shots, and fewer scoring chances.

The fact that his GF% and his PDO are ranked that highly would be cause for concern for some who are hesitant to bring Tavares back. It is understandable why that would be the case given he is getting up there in age, his footspeed isn’t quite what it once was, and a regression back to the mean is to be expected.

Having said that, there is also reason to believe that the drastic dropoff could be a one-off and the underlying metrics could rebound to around par. This past season saw Tavares take the highest percentage of defensive zone starts of his Leafs tenure, and beginning his shifts in his own end a lot means the possession numbers will naturally take a hit. Ensuring he gets more favourable matchups to accommodate his decreasing footspeed would help in ensuring the Leafs spend more time in the offensive zone when he is on the ice.

That would also mean specializing Tavares to getting power-play minutes since that is one area of the game he continues to thrive in. He tied with Nylander for the team lead in tallies on the man advantage with 12, which is also tied for 17th in the NHL. He won’t be the net-front presence anymore since Matthew Knies has done a masterful job in that role during the campaign, but he has done well in the bumper and that would make sense for him going forward. He still has a solid release that can be deadly from the slot, he has great awareness to deflect shots, and his playmaking abilities have not gone away.

Tavares is far from the player he was in his prime, but he is still a quality player at this stage of his career. If the Leafs choose to bring him back, they will need to be mindful of his minutes and put him in a position to succeed so they can get the most out of his twilight years.

Select highlights 

Between-the-legs assist on Mitch Marner’s goal vs. Detroit Red Wings, December 27th, 2024