"You need somebody who's better than John Tavares": NHL analyst calls on Toronto Maple Leafs to make a trade for a center upgrade

Toronto Maple Leafs centermen Auston Matthews and John Tavares have been producing well this season. However, the team is speculated to be in the hunt for the 3C role as it looks to increase the depth of its lineup.

Max Domi, the team's chosen third center since the start of the season, has just 19 points in 44 games with just three goals. Thus, the team is looking for options around the league.

On Monday's "Kyper & Bourne" podcast, Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee discussed probable options for Toronto. Scott Laughton has been linked to the team for a long time, but Kypreos feels he is not impactful enough.

"You need somebody as good or better than John Tavares," Kypreos said (1:03). "Yeah, you're right. You mentioned the name of Cozens. We have dropped Kadri's name before. That's the type of impact, I think that's the type of player that they should be going for. And you just said they're not doing [that]. I don't like that Brayden Schenn's got, I don't know, two or three years left after this, he is already 33; not thrilled with it.

But how good would he look this year, coming in? Three more after? Can you get St. Louis to eat some of it? They don’t retain but times are changing. That’s the type of impactful guy. Ryan O'Reilly, that's the guy that excited Leafs fans. They tried to sign him two years ago, didn’t want to stay. But that’s better than the names you thought."

John Tavares intends to stay in Toronto with contract negotiations looming

In December, John Tavares was asked whether he'd stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs after the end of the season when his contract expires. The Leafs center has few months left on his seven-year, $77 million contract.

“Aside from not being able to help bring a Stanley Cup here, it’s been everything I could hope for," Tavares said. "In fact, it’s been even better than I thought, to be honest. I’ve said it before, I would love to stay and hope it works out."

At 34, Tavares has shocked the hockey community by producing almost a point per game with 43 points from 45 games this season.