John Tavares, the captain of his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, was the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft and now joins the 1,000-point club. Those individually are great accomplishments, but to say that he has done them all is unreal.
Tavares was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 2005 OHL Draft after he petitioned to be allowed to enter the league a year early based on his talent level. The Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which is the governing body over all three major junior hockey leagues in Canada, including the aforementioned OHL, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and the Western Hockey League (WHL), allowed his request. This made him the first player in the entire CHL to be granted ‘exceptional player status’. This meant that Tavares would be allowed to play in the OHL at just 14 years old, the second player to do so since Bobby Orr did it in 1962–63.
The Oshawa Generals selected Tavares first overall after he proved he had what it takes to compete with more experienced players. In his first year, he scored 45 goals and 32 assists for 77 points in 65 games and was named to the OHL’s All-Rookie Team, as well as winning the Rookie of the Year award in both the OHL and CHL. Tavares played two more seasons with the Generals, where he scored 134 points and 118 points, which included a 72-goal season that broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most goals by a 16-year-old. To wrap up his OHL career in 2008–09, he was traded from the Generals to the London Knights, who have always been a powerhouse in the OHL. He ended the season with 104 points, and just like that, his junior career came to an end.
Life on the Island
Despite attempting to be allowed to be a part of the 2008 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders selected Tavares with the first pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, which brought a ton of faith to the organization. As it would with any team, the hype surrounding him was unreal; the face of their franchise was here and ready to get started. His first NHL game was against the Pittsburgh Penguins; similar to Connor Bedard’s this season, both started their careers off against Sidney Crosby. It didn’t take him long to find the scoresheet, as he scored his first-ever NHL goal on Oct. 3, 2009.
Tavares and fellow rookie Matt Duchene dominated the rookie scoring race; unfortunately for Tavares, Duchene beat him by one point, and he ended his first season with 54 points in 82 games. In his second and third seasons, he battled back and found the back of the net more; he scored 67 points and 81 points, respectively, which brought him to the end of his entry-level contract (ELC), which means the Islanders were going to lock him up long-term. That is just what they did; in 2011, he signed a six-year, $33 million contract that carried an average annual value (AAV) of $5.5 million. However, due to the lockout in 2012–13, he missed a portion of his first year, so he went overseas to play with HC Bern of the Swiss League (SL) along with many other notable NHL players.
When the lockout was over, he returned to the Island and started his new contract. In his first year, he helped the Islanders reach the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Unfortunately, he and his teammates were bounced in the first round by Crosby and the Penguins. In 2013, he was named the 14th captain of the Islanders and had a strong season until he was injured with an MCL tear and had to miss the remainder of the season. Sadly, during that time, he had 66 points in 59 games. The following season (2014-15), he returned healthy and had another strong season. This time he played in all 82 games and had 86 points, which was good enough for second place in the Art Ross Trophy race. Over the next three seasons, Tavares and the Islanders made the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2014–15 but were beaten out by the Washington Capitals.
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In the 2016 Playoffs, the Islanders faced the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. On the back of Tavares, who scored the double overtime series winner, he and his team finally made it past the first round. In 2017–18, Tavares played his last full season with the Islanders. He was on an expiring contract, and with no contract in place, he tested the open market and eventually signed with the Maple Leafs, bringing his time on Long Island to an end. Throughout his nine seasons with the club, he appeared in 669 games and scored 272 goals and 349 assists for 621 points. He will go down as one of the best to put on the sweater.
JT Comes Home
If you were an NHL player and your favourite team growing up offered you $11 million per season for seven seasons, would you say no? I know I wouldn’t. This isn’t to mention that he was thought to be one of the biggest free agents in recent memory in the NHL, so why wouldn’t you make a bid on him? Which is exactly what the Maple Leafs did. Former general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas and his staff worked out a contract with Tavares that paid him $11 million per season for seven seasons to bring the Maple Leafs fan home to play for his boyhood team. It was reported that the San Jose Sharks offered him $91 million over seven seasons, which carries a $13 million AAV, but he rejected it and signed with his hometown team. In his first game as a Maple Leaf, he didn’t disappoint; he scored against the arch-enemy, the Montreal Canadiens.
Tavares’ first year with the Maple Leafs was his best one statistically; he scored 47 goals and 41 assists for 88 points, which was a career-high. On Jan. 10, 2019, he made his return to Long Island, and the fans’ reaction was to be expected; he got booed. That and more, though, he was heckled and had items thrown at him on the ice because he left the organization to sign with the Maple Leafs. Still to this day, every time he returns to their arena, the fans are on him, and it has been six seasons. Entering his second season with the team, he was named the 25th captain in the organization’s history, which had been vacant since Dion Phaneuf left the team three seasons prior.
Tavares battled injuries over the next few seasons, including one of the worst on-ice incidents on May 20, 2021, when he collided with Canadiens defenceman Ben Chiarot and, as he was falling, was clipped by Corey Perry’s knee. This left him knocked out, and when he came to, he was visibly confused. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital, where it was later revealed that he had a concussion and would be out indefinitely. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, they blew a great opportunity to advance to the next round and lost in Game 7 to the Canadiens, ending their season. Thankfully, he returned to full health and rejoined the team at the start of training camp in October 2022.
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If you ask Tavares what the highlight of his career is, he may answer that he finally sent the Maple Leafs to the second round. That happened on April 29, 2023, when the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Maple Leafs were in overtime, and Tavares shot the puck, and it got by the Lightning’s goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to finally break the curse and send his club to the second round for the first time in 19 years. Or it could be his 1,000th point in the NHL that happened on Dec. 11, 2023, against none other than the Islanders. He was hearing the boo birds all night, and in the dying seconds of the third period, down one goal, he redirected the puck to Morgan Rielly and scored, giving him his 1,000th career point. This was a special moment as his teammates fled from the benches to hug him, and his dad was in attendance for the annual dad trip. To have that happen against the team that you spent nine years with has to be an unbelievable feeling.
Tavares has this season plus one more remaining with the Maple Leafs before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. While there is a strong chance that the Maple Leafs will find a way to bring him back, his career with the club has been great. He has spent the last six seasons with Toronto and has played in 385 games and scored 163 goals and 216 assists for 379 points, bringing his career point total to 1,000 in 1,053 NHL games.
Tavares should eventually be in the Hall of Fame; unfortunately, he may never get the chance to win the Stanley Cup, but he should still receive an induction into the Hall for his amazing career thus far. He is still only 33 years old, and when his contract is up with the Maple Leafs, he could re-sign for two or three more years for a significantly lower AAV and play until he is 38, and he may even be able to reach 1,100 career points. However, for now, we want to congratulate Tavares on his amazing accomplishment. You join an elite group of players who have scored 1,000 or more points in the NHL!