Perhaps it's because he feels a little lighter without the 'C' on his sweater, but John Tavares has been nothing short of outstanding for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. He's strong on pucks and in the faceoff circle and continues to lead by example.

He's also been very productive for a guy who lost 10 pounds early in the season with an illness. With two assists in the Maple Leafs' 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken, Tavares has 11 points in 10 games and has recorded a point in eight games.

At the age of 34, Tavares is productive as he is low-maintenance. In the final year of a deal that carries a cap hit of $11 million, Tavares has held up his end of the deal since the day he arrived in Toronto. And he's playing as though he wants there to be more of those.

They'll come at drastically reduced money and term, but there are a lot of benefits to having a player of his ilk stick around.

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