Tavares’ hot start and small ice make an Olympic case for the Maple Leafs center

Olympic rosters should be finalized by the end of the month, even as the league continues to panic over the status of the arena. This means it’s now or never to have the conversation about whether or not John Tavares should factor into Team Canada’s plans. There is more than enough talent in the Canadian forward group, so that almost everyone who is not in the first roster is far from being locked down. (Brayden Point and his 11 points in 21 games certainly look like a misstep at this point.)

Besides the easy comparison to Brayden Point to show that John Tavares deserves it, it’s worth seeing how he stacks up against the field. Tavares is currently the fifth highest scoring Canadian player 5v5 and the 13th highest scoring player overall (12th highest forward). In addition to having an advantage over already selected players like Point and Sam Reinhart (it’s safe to say that Reinhart’s defensive play makes up for the two-point difference), Tavares has also outscored Mitch Marner, Mark Stone, Seth Jarvis, Travis Konecny, Mat Barzal, Sam Bennett and Anthony Cirelli, although some of these players can be seen to bring other elements to their game that Tavares may not have.

It’s also worth considering that while Hockey Canada makes a decision on Tavares, there are other players who didn’t play a role in the Four Nations tournament and there are good hands who may have found themselves in contention as well. Mark Scheifele, Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, Morgan Geekie and Wyatt Johnson also make strong cases. Since Celebrini and Bedard are the future stars of the competition, their exclusion is a tricky matter.

The proof for Tavares is his track record with Hockey Canada. The World U-18s, the World Juniors, the World Championships, the Olympics and even the Spengler Cup, Tavares has represented Canada well in the past and if Canada goes with a youth movement they may also want to include one of their all-time top scorers in the international game to balance that out. (The argument that Crosby, MacKinnon, and Marchand make about this is valid.)

There are other arguments worth considering when it comes to Tavares and while they may not prove he’s a lock, they should show why he’s a tough player to leave out of the lineup.

1. The smaller ice surface benefits a player like Tavares. If the rink is smaller, the need for afterburners on your skaters is reduced. And the need for players who excel in down-low play around the net is increasing, something that brings Tavares in spades.
2. He is a center and a center who is playing incredibly well this year. And he is a center that you can also use on the wing. It seems like it would be beneficial for Team Canada to take the most critical forward position, as they have done in the past.
3. Money. The Toronto market is important and while the Greater Toronto Area won’t skip watching Team Canada games or cheer on another country because there is better Leaf representation. There could probably be a few extra dollars made in jersey sales or ad revenue by including a Leaf player instead of a Carolina Hurricane or Vegas Golden Knight.
4. Tavares’ game is not complicated. There is no difficult mystery for a new coach to discover what the best play is or struggle to find the right fit for him in the lineup. Team Canada’s history of choosing role players over dominant talent has held them back at times. Tavares has a resume full of consistent results and should give him an edge over some of the flashier results or emerging talent.

When it comes to a first-team Team Canada selection, John Tavares may still be a long shot, but there’s a lot of hockey to be played between the December 31st deadline and the February 11th puck drop. Tavares could be getting more attention on the reserve list at this point. The 2008 World Junior Championship may be a long time ago, but it serves as a permanent reminder of how John Tavares will take his game to the next level when representing his country.