How John Tavares has thrived in hockey’s limelight for two decades

John Tavares is known to eschew individual attention, but it’s a shame that he wasn’t able to celebrate his 500th goal in earnest. Tavares reached this milestone during Wednesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but as the Toronto Maple Leafs trailed by several goals, the 35-year-old skated to the bench stoically, accepting a pat on the back from head coach Craig Berube.

“You play this game to win as a team, and it’s all about the team,” Tavares said post-game. “And you know, you’d like to have had it made more of an impact in the game. But for sure, in the days ahead and moments ahead, I’ll appreciate it more.”

Tavares became the 49th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals, which invites an opportunity to reflect on his remarkable career. Short of winning a Stanley Cup, he has exceeded the stratospheric expectations cast upon him, since emerging in the national spotlight as a 14-year-old prodigy. He wasn’t quite the first superstar of the modern internet era, that designation belongs to Sidney Crosby, but Tavares was the first player to be granted exceptional status under the Canadian Hockey League’s revised process, went first overall in the OHL Draft to the Oshawa Generals, and was selected first by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Draft. He hasn’t looked back since.

I’ve written about the early portion of Tavares’ career more than a few times at different outlets, and once again, there’s some context worth adding here. Tavares played 18 months up in minor hockey and by the time he was a U14 player, he was considered the best player in Ontario by some distance, ahead of Logan Couture, Drew Doughty and Toronto Marlboros teammate Sam Gagner. As a teenager, his scoring touch was discussed online forums (shoutout to those of you from HFBoards and Network54!) with near-mythical quality, and he’s the second-best U15 player I’ve ever watched, with Connor McDavid in a different tier.

Tavares’ game is a steady metronome with more subtle qualities to appreciate. McDavid’s exceptional skating and Crosby’s puck skills and superior centre of gravity were readily apparent to the casual observer. Tavares’ highlight reel is an appreciation of hockey intelligence writ large, as he’s used his spatial sense and innate goal-scoring ability to wedge his way into the slot and net-front throughout a career, where he’s scored fewer than 20 goals in a season just once. At this stage of his career, Tavares’ superior hockey intelligence and love for the game is propelling a resurgent late arc.

There’s been a tendency to preemptively dismiss Tavares, this faction often extending outside of the Toronto market. We’d like to surmise that Tavares’ game doesn’t always have a visceral quality to it, that outside observers have a tendency to write him off. There’s been a notion that Tavares has lost a step as a skater, which isn’t supported by NHL Edge data and as a beat reporter, I can assure you that few players on the Leafs are better at transporting the puck into the offensive zone, no one is asking him to win a straight-line race. Tavares has been the most consistent Leafs player through 11 games — yes, there isn’t a whole lot of competition for this designation, but it’s all the more reason to appreciate his tremendous career to date, as another 38-goal campaign is certainly within reach.