Who didn't dream of seeing John Tavares land in Montreal on July 1, 2018? Many Montreal fans were hoping to see the former Islanders sign with the Habs to finally have a true number one center in Montreal. However, in hindsight, can we really say that this would have been a good signing?
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the ones who won the Tavares derby. However, the hometown team is now facing a serious payroll problem. With the arrival of Tavares in Toronto and his 11 million dollars salary, it has greatly disturbed the structure of the Leafs' payroll. That's why Mathias Brunet calls this signing a mistake.
When you think about it, it's almost 40 millions that are given for only four Maple Leafs players: Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares. With the salary cap still at 81.5 million and possibly rising to 82.5 million in 2022-2023, that's almost half of the team's payroll given to just four forwards.
Did the Leafs really need Tavares? Would they have been better off signing two or three players to improve their team than giving $11 million to number 91? With yet another quick exit during the last playoffs, the question is really worth some thoughts!
