John Tavares to the Leafs is the single greatest off-ice victory in a long time for the franchise, rivalled only by the 2016 Draft Lottery. Former front office executives didn’t exactly leave the bar that high, considering one of their ‘big free agent signings’ was David Clarkson.
But Tavares is here, and the Walt Disney element of the whole process is easy to notice. Hometown kid turned NHL star forgoes making more money to go on a journey to win a Stanley Cup with his childhood team. Which brings me to the focus of this here piece.