from Daniel Friedman of CBSNewYork,

Tavares and the Isles came into this season with heightened expectations, but to this point he’s failed to meet them, struggling to produce and find that other gear on a consistent basis. He’s currently on pace for just 59 points and has just 10 in his past 20 contests.

The culprit here seems to be anyone but him, according to just about everyone you talk to around these parts. It’s impressive how far many will go to make every excuse in the book for a player that’s supposed to be held to a higher standard.

It’s time we stopped doing that and accepted the fact that Tavares simply has not been good enough this season. If his linemates aren’t good enough, explain to me how he recored 86 points with basically the same ones last season....

He’s supposed to be able to produce regardless of the circumstances.

He’s the guy who turned PA Parenteau, Matt Moulson and Brad Boyes into viable linemates and effective forwards. He has all the talent in the world and a better cast now than he’s ever had to work with (I’m talking about the offense as a whole, not one or two individual players). There are no excuses.

Am I being too harsh or far-fetched? Not really. We cannot treat Tavares like we would any other player. He’s a cut above nearly everyone, and therefore expectations of him should be higher.

I have little doubt that Tavares will bounce back at some point and that the moment that happens everyone will flood my timeline with “still think he sucks Friedman?” comments. But that’s not my point here.

My point is, Tavares is better than what he’s shown. And not only that, his performance thus far has has been flat-out pathetic by his standards.

more