Maple Leafs’ John Tavares talks Masterton nod, unsettled contract, lost captaincy

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — The stereotypical and slightly cynical view of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is that it should be awarded to the NHLer who overcame the most debilitating of ailments and rallied through gruelling rehab and a string of doctors’ appointments to compile a decent season.

Battle a career-threatening illness? Suffer a gruesome on-ice injury? Well, jump to the front of the line.

But what of the wounds we can’t see?

By definition, the award goes to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”

In that context, and considering the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, the image of John Tavares should pop immediately to mind.

Tavares is not only wholly deserving of his 2024-25 Masterton nomination from Toronto’s chapter of hockey writers, but his candidacy should be taken seriously league-wide.

“He’s the ultimate professional,” says Max Domi, echoing a sentiment that has sprung from the mouths of Tavares’s teammates for 16 seasons and counting. 

“You hear that thrown around a lot. It’s kind of overrated nowadays. ‘Oh, this guy’s a pro.’  No. He’s a pro, and he’s the definition of it. The way he prepares. The way he recovers. He’s a special guy.”

A special guy quietly, consistently thriving in a uniquely challenging season. 

Physically, Tavares started behind the 8-ball, his energy sapped by an October illness. And he missed another half-dozen games in January due to a leg injury suffered in practice.

But it’s the veteran’s mental toughness, relentless practice habits, and insistence on sticking it to Father Time that make him worthy here.

The Masterton campaign Tavares didn’t know he was building (but is tremendously honoured to accept) began in the summer.

Strip a proud player of his captaincy. Ask him to pass the torch publicly. Force-feed him a giant slice of humble pie.

How would you react? Would it be with as much external class and grace and as much internal desire to dig in as Tavares?

“There’s a lot of things that go through your head, but you try to do the right thing… doing everything you can to help the team win,” Tavares said this week, reflecting on his passing of the ‘C’ to Auston Matthews. 

Tavares, 34, simultaneously recognized the dominance of prime Matthews and hoped the transition of leadership might somehow improve the group, but resolved that a degrading of letters would in no way sap his passion or affect how he leads.

“I never looked at it as something that would change my approach,” Tavares explains. “Just believed it was the right thing to do. Didn’t worry about what people were saying.”

Then alternate captain Tavares went out and started filling the net more frequently than the Leafs’ (injury-hampered) new captain.

Tavares has racked up 71 points in 70 games. His 37th goal Tuesday in Florida — a bullet past Sergei Bobrovsky — makes Year 7 of his Maple Leafs contract the most productive since Year 1 and puts the lie to the theory that, surely, the centreman’s value would dip on the back end of the frontloaded deal.

“I almost want to say that he looks like he’s getting younger every year. He keeps getting better,” teammate Calle Järnkrok says. “When I see him doing it, I think maybe I can do it too.”

Tavares is winning 58.5 per cent of his faceoffs, stuffing the net at even strength (24 goals — fourth-most in his career), and tracking his third-best plus/minus rating (plus-10) despite starting more shifts in the defensive zone (42 per cent) than any other season as a Leaf.

“As a coach, you love it. You love a player like that,” Craig Berube beams. “You love his professionalism and the mindset he has day in and day out. You know, he’s almost like having another coach around, asking what his thoughts are.

“When I watch John, it’s just the preparation daily. It never changes. It’s always his routine that allows him to be successful at a later age.”

Tavares chuckles at the notion of coaching. For one, the father of three’s focus away from the rink is directed at his young children. Moreover, he’s still got plenty of juice in the tank as a player climbing up the all-time points chart (No. 67 and humming) and is hungry to see what a conference final tastes like.

“I love what I do,” Tavares says. “I kinda just feel like a kid every day, getting to play a sport and a game that I love.

“Every day is really exciting. You can’t beat it.”

There are disappointments along the way, though.

Tavares, who captained Team Canada at the ’24 world championships, wanted desperately to skate his way onto the national roster that defeated Matthews’ Team USA for gold at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He didn’t watch the overtime — and Canada’s golden goal — in real-time, choosing his bedsheets instead.

“I would have loved to have been there. But it is what it is. I got to spend some extra time with my family, which I really enjoyed,” Tavares says. “Nine or 10 days off to lay low, rest up, get away from it mentally a bit.

“A lot of trust and belief in my game and what I can do.”

As badly as Tavares — who got injured during Canada’s golden Olympic run at Sochi 2014 — wanted to participate in the best-on-best, Berube believes the time off helped.

“A lot. That 4 Nations takes a lot out of the players, and it takes more time than you think to get it back,” Berube says. “So, I think the break for Johnny was really important.”

Tavares’s scorching play in March earned him the NHL’s second star of the month, and he has formed one of the league’s most dynamic second lines alongside wingers William Nylander and Bobby McMann. 

“Johnny’s just on another planet right now,” Domi says. “Everything he touches goes in. It’s great to see. He’s one of the hardest-working guys I’ve ever played with, so it’s great to see him get rewarded.”

Whether the pending UFA will be rewarded with a second contract in Toronto is still to be determined. 

Leafs management wants to see (a) how the group fares in the post-season and (b) how the Mitch Marner deal shakes out.

Despite being willing to negotiate and having his file pushed to the back burner, the Toronto native remains confident that his contract will work out.

“Year 16, I’ve done very well in the league financially,” says Tavares, who has $111,041,463 in career earnings (before endorsements and the CRA’s clawback, which he is leaving to professionals who understand tax nuance better than him). 

“There will come a time when it’ll get addressed and it’ll get taken care of. So, I just go out and enjoy playing.”

(Happily acknowledging the Blue Jays’ recent half-billion-dollar extension for Vladimir Guerrero, Tavares chuckles: “I wouldn’t mind a 14-year deal, but good for him.”)

In the meantime, the man who used to be captain, who used to play for Team Canada, whom most assumed would fade in the face of age, remains dedicated to getting his boyhood team over the hump. 

To persevere, one goal at a time.

“If he can bring that fire to the playoffs,” Simon Benoit says, “we’ll be happy for sure.”

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