After years of shared leadership, the Toronto Maple Leafs have named John Tavares as their team captain. It’s a role he was born to be in.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have finally announced their choice of team captain – John Tavares. And on opening night on home ice. Very fitting. Captain. The power of this word and everything it conjures up has been making the rounds as of late. Whether during the past summer months or even in moments during the recent Leafs season, the word has been considered.
Who was most worthy? Most seasoned? Savviest with the press? Most courageous? The most proficient at scoring or setting up plays? Most likely to be a game-changer in the playoffs? The most likely to be an elite player for years to come? The conversations have been many.
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I bantered with some over the topic as well. What I noticed while sifting through the checklist of qualities sought out for Maple Leafs captaincy, the choice always seemed to settle quite clearly on Tavares.
Not because Morgan Rielly wasn’t capable, completely appropriate for the title, and totally available for the assignment. Nor was it because Auston Matthews wasn’t already a superstar and will most likely break all his previous records if he is allotted straight-up good health for the upcoming season.
And certainly not because there is a certain void left behind after Patrick Marleau packed his bags because that kind of mentorship and friendship he represented to the team isn’t something confined to a title.
No, what Tavares has managed to accomplish in his first year with the Leafs, is on par with some of the best in the NHL. He has done this for most of his hockey-playing years, quietly and intensely, this business of showing up early at the rink, and amongst the last to leave.
Absorbing the brunt of many a punishing crosscheck while holding his ground in the slot, along the boards, behind the net. Waiting patiently for the pass and then doing everything in his power to bring that puck to its final conclusion at the back of the net. Offering support on the bench during a game many, many times to others in their moments of discouragement or frustration.
Acknowledging others who helped create the often hard-earned play behind a goal. Calmly taking on responsibility for any lapses and losses, and always willing to answer the hard questions along with the obvious ones.
To those who see him as too quiet, look up some of his interviews. Tavares will describe in-depth the range and scope of a fellow player’s work ethic and abilities on the ice, while shielding that player from counterproductive commentaries, patiently steering the conversation away from such.
But mostly, it’s about his lifelong story, coming full circle back to the city he loves, where he played lacrosse and soccer before claiming the ice at his buddy Sam Gagner’s backyard rink in Oakville. The story of his persistent bid to gain entry into the OHL a year before age eligibility, changing the parameters regarding the ‘exceptional player clause’, paving the way for other elite young players such as Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, Joe Veleno, Shane Wright.
And biding his time after making the same attempt with the AHL after John Ferguson Jr of the Toronto Maple Leafs offered him a spot with the Marlies back in 2007. He had to wait until the 2009 draft where he was selected first overall by the Islanders. In New York, Tavares carried the weight of the team on many occasions while never complaining.
When the time came for him to come back to Toronto, he did it with hope, and a clear eye fixed on what this team had the potential to become, as it had already started. But mostly, he did it with his heart, choosing to forego a much higher offer from San Jose, and perhaps more we will never know of because that is just his way. It was Tavares’ boyhood dream to play in the blue and white.
There are overseers, bosses, prodigies, and then there are leaders. Tavares is a leader. And that is what the word ‘captain’ should mean in the hockey-crazed city of Toronto.
He will be standing quietly at the beginning of this season, ready to give it all, and work towards what might possibly be the most dynamic year of Maple Leafs hockey we have seen in a long time. Tavares will make everyone on this team feel like they were an integral, crucial part of what is winding up to be an unstoppable success story.
Even if it falls just short, he will be standing there at the end of it, ready to try again. Because that is what a captain does.