Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Livid as Team Canada Snubs Iconic Star Forward
Team Canada's offensive struggles at the 4 Nations Faceoff have sparked some debate over some of their roster decisions and notably, the omission of John Tavares.
While the team have the elite firepower, they've yet to hit their full offensive upside and to add to all that, their fourth line has been ineffective.
That raises an important question which is : why John Tavares wasn't picked by team Canada?
Which player John Tavares could have replaced in the Tea, Canada lineup?
His experience and production this season suggest he could've been a good player for Team Canada.
Tavares wasn't the only notable absence since player like Chris Tanev, Mark Scheifele and Mackenzie Weegar were also left out, but Tavares' history in best-on-best tournaments should have given him an edge over the others.
Would Jon Cooper and company really have lost much by replacing Anthony Cirelli or Brandon Hagel with Tavares?
John Tavares has been productive for the Maple Leafs this season with 21 goals and 24 assists in 48 games and when you compare that to Cirelli's 20 goals and 22 assists in 55 games, and it's hard to justify the decision.
Brandon Hagel has on his side a solid case with 26 goals and 36 assists in 55 games, but Tavares' experience still stands out when compared.
Beyond the stats, Tavares has won five international gold medals which is including the 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
His track record in tournaments is tough to match and is making his exclusion even more puzzling.
Tavares deserved a spot, but he has a bigger goal in mind which is a Stanley Cup and if Team Canada stumbles, this snub will only look worse.
