John Tavares Makes Gut-Wrenching Comments While Visibly Emotional After Game 7

John Tavares has been with the Toronto Maple Leafs for almost a decade now, and during that time, he has not even sniffed a Stanley Cup.

The veteran forward is actually one of the team's most egregious playoff droppers. As far as chokers are concerned, he is right up there with Mitch Marner.

Having said that, there are a lot of angry fans right now as the Leafs lost to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 on Sunday by a score of 6-1. An unacceptable scoreline in a winner-takes-all game.

This was such a bad result that Tavares was visibly emotional after the game. Of course, this was also because he is a free agent as of July 1st, and his future is uncertain.

However, the former captain of the Leafs made it a point to state that he would like to stay with the team and try again next year.

Whether or not general manager Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs organization will want him back is another story entirely.

At the end of the day, Tavares and the rest of the Core Four were not good enough. There is a likely scenario where both Tavares and Mitch Marner leave the team for good.

While this would be a bit heartbreaking for a plethora of reasons, it is not unprecedented. This core has not gotten it done in the playoffs, and something has to change.

Not to mention, the regular-season Tavares had means that he will be an expensive player, and the Leafs likely don't want to keep someone who fails in the postseason every single year.