Tavares closing in on 500th goal in career that was destined for greatness

TORONTO -- It’s a brisk March afternoon in Toronto and a player named Tavares is flicking pucks into the top corner of the net at the east end of Scotiabank Arena.

What’s the big deal? A regular occurrence, right?

Not really.

Because this isn’t John Tavares, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders who's gone on to play 1,191 career games and counting.

No, it’s his 3-year-old son, Axton, who is picking corners with regularity, showing the on-ice shooting prowess of kids almost twice his age.

Like father, like son? Or, in this case, sons, since 5-year-old Jace is also out on the ice with them for an afternoon family skate?

“I’m not ready to say that,” Tavares says with a laugh. “I’m not trying to see myself in them. It’s just cool to see to share my love of the game and the way they see the game.

“I’m just going to support them and enjoy watching them create their own paths, their own journeys.”

In their dad’s case, his journey started similarly at a young age, on backyard rinks and Toronto-area arenas, showing the type of skill sets of kids older than him like Axton is now.

Three decades later, the 35-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs forward is two goals shy of 500. He will try again Saturday when Toronto hosts the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena (5 p.m. ET; SN1, MSG-B).

Indeed, what a ride it’s been.

He grew up in Oakville, 25 miles southwest of Toronto, spending endless hours playing with fellow future NHL player Sam Gagner on the backyard rink made by Sam’s father, Dave, who had 719 points (318 goals, 401 assists) in 946 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks from 1984-1999.

At age 11, Tavares joined a summer team called the Ontario Blues, a roster that featured fellow future NHL players in Alex Pietrangelo, Steven Stamkos, Michael Del Zotto, Cody Hodgson and Michael Hutchinson. Chris Stamkos, Steven's dad, and Joe Pietrangelo, Alex's father, were among the facilitators of the stacked team that went 49-0-1 over a couple of years.

In 2005 Tavares was granted exceptional player status, making him the first player ever to receive it in the Ontario Hockey League. The new rule allowed the then 14-year-old to be drafted by the Oshawa Generals a year earlier than usual, at age 15.

The status is granted to players deemed mature and skilled enough to compete at the next level before their eligibility year. With Tavares having opened the door, eight players have followed suit including Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers (2011), Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (2012) and Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks (2020).

After being selected by the Islanders in 2009, he had 621 points (272 goals, 349 assists) in 669 games from 2009-18, fifth all-time on the franchise list.

Future NHL players John Tavares (front, second from right), Steve Stamkos (on right of Tavares), Michael Del Zotto (top row, far left) and Alex Pietrangelo (top row, second from left) all played for the Ontario Blues when Tavares was 11.

He became an unrestricted free agent in 2018 and signed a seven-year, $77 million contract ($11 million average annual value) with his hometown Maple Leafs. He has 503 points (226 goals, 277 assists) in 523 regular-season games. He signed a four-year, $17.52 million contract ($4.38 million AAV) on June 27 that will keep him with Toronto through the 2028-29 season.

On Saturday, his two-goal performance in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken made him the fourth player in NHL history to have at least 500 points with two different teams, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Ron Francis.

And now he’s poised to become the 49th player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal milestone. The only previous player to score No. 500 in a Maple Leafs uniform: franchise icon Mats Sundin, who did it on Oct. 14, 2006.

“I’m actually not trying to think about it too much,” Tavares told NHL.com last week. “I want to earn it. And when the moment comes, it’ll make it that much more special.

“Even as a kid, I was an offensive player, and when you're counted on in those areas, you want to be consistent, you want to be really, really good, and to produce and to put the puck in the net.”

Even in those 1-on-1 games with Sam Gagner in the backyard rink.

“From my memory as a kid, I think there was always a drive to score,” he said. “I mean, the name of the game was whoever scores the most goals wins, right? So, you know, I wanted to go out there, and I think I was driven to excel. And scoring was a big part of that.”

For John Tavares, NHL veteran and fledgling hockey dad, it still is.

* * * *

Inspiration to achieve greatness for young John wasn’t hard to find.

All he had to do was look across the dining room table at Thanksgiving and see it in the form of his uncle John, the Wayne Gretzky of lacrosse, if you will.

Uncle John Tavares, now the coach of the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits, is the NLL’s all-time leader in goals (815) and points (1,749). Every time John plays on the road against the Sabres, like he did on Friday, he looks to the rafters of KeyBank Center to see his uncle’s banner.

He had the chance to make history in that very rink, but managed just one assist in a 5-3 loss.

“I’ve got to say, that would be so cool,” Uncle John told NHL.com Wednesday about his nephew hitting the milestone in the same arena he coaches. “I mean, when he was a little kid, he spent time as a ball boy for us. All these years later, if he were to hit that milestone in that same building where he was a ball boy, that would be so special. I mean, getting 500 goals anywhere is special, don’t get me wrong. But again, in that same building …

“As he’s gotten closer to 500 you start to hear talk about him maybe being a Hall of Fame candidate. Just being in the conversation is a big deal. I mean, I remember when he was made captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was so cool for me because I grew up a Maple Leafs fan.

“I’m just very proud of him.”

Whenever, wherever, however he gets that milestone goal, the influence that his uncle had on him will never be forgotten.

“When you have a family member of his stature, and probably the greatest player in his sport, and that type of influence, you know when you’re 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-years old, you see the work he puts in, what it takes to be a pro and how to stay grounded,” Tavares said “I learned so much being around him. It was amazing.”

Uncle John remembers how quickly his nephew picked up whatever sport he tried, especially hockey and lacrosse.

“(A colleague) and I were running a lacrosse school and we invited John for the first time,” he said. “He might have been the youngest kid there. By the time camp was over, we figured he might have been the best player there, age notwithstanding. And it was his first camp.

“John’s always had an amazing learning curve. When other kids were watching cartoons at 5, he was watching Wayne Gretzky videos. When he was a ball boy with us and standing on the playing floor, he wasn’t just watching what was going on -- he was studying it.”

Nephew John said he wasn’t sure whether he would follow the career path of hockey or lacrosse, a sport he also loved, until he received special player status from the OHL. Even then, he credits lacrosse for helping him be better in certain aspects of his NHL game.

“I think in lacrosse, the thing that I probably found that translated for me in hockey, is playing in traffic,” he said. “Like in hockey, I was playing with kids two or three years older than me sometimes. So, yeah, I wasn't as physically strong as some of the others. So, when I was 11, playing against 13, 14-year-olds, there's a big difference at times.”

As such, he needed to find ways to create scoring opportunities against bigger opponents.

“Whether it's rolling off checks, protecting your stick and taking physical contact, absorbing contact, and how to be able to make plays through that, those are the things that probably translated the most for me from lacrosse to hockey,” he said.

Whether it was coaching Tavares in minor hockey with the Toronto Marlboros or sporadically watching him and Sam in the backyard rink, Dave Gagner saw firsthand those same traits and talents that made John a special player, even at a young age.

“He was always extremely strong on a stick, even against the older kids,” Dave Gagner recalled. “Maybe it came from lacrosse but it’s something we really didn't have to teach him. It was kind of like he came with that.

“He knew where to go. He knew when to get open. I mean, a lot of goal-scoring is timing. You can't be too early. You can't be too late, obviously. So his timing was very good. Always. He knew when to hit the holes and he could finish. I mean, he scored, I don't know, 80 or 90 goals every year for us in, like, 60 games or 70 games.

“So playing against the top kids, anywhere, even the older ones, he thrived.”

As such, when the issue of whether the exceptional status rule should be started for Tavares, Gagner said it was a no-brainer.

“When there was a question going to the OHL, like, whether he should get exceptional status, I'm like, he's one of the best players in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, arguably the greatest minor hockey league in the world,” Gagner said. “I don't care if all the older kids are going, he should go. I mean, he's better than most if not all of them.

“There was no question in our minds that he was exceptional.”

Stamkos couldn’t agree more.

“I mean, listen, I've known Johnny for forever, going back to those Ontario Blues days,” the Nashville Predators forward told NHL.com. “And the one thing that always sticks out is, you see the skill, you see the player, the person that he is and the work ethic. The things that go on behind the scenes that the people who are with him on an everyday basis get to see, but not everyone gets to see, is just the pro that he is. And there's a reason why he's still having the success that he is at his age, and the amount of games that he's played over his career. It’s because he puts in the work. And that's inspiring to his teammates and, for that matter, guys around the League.

“I mean, that’s what he's all about. And, you know, it's impressive to watch.”

Also impressive: The fact that two members of that same minor hockey team, the Ontario Blues, soon will be members of the 500-goal club. Stamkos is already in, with 583 goals in 1,172 games with the Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning.

“We all grew up together and to have as many of us from that Ontario Blues team go on to have success in the NHL at this level is pretty amazing,” Stamkos said. “And then for him to be on the verge of 500 goals, it's pretty remarkable that we're on the same team as kids and having fun, you know, playing this game that we love, and here we are still doing what we love.

“I don't think he'll be stopping anytime soon. I mean, that could turn into 600 and more.”

Dave Gagner feels Tavares has plenty left in the tank.

“He's not finished, not even close,” Gagner said.

“I mean, the one thing everybody always talks about when a guy's getting older is losing their speed and that it's going to be more difficult to succeed. You could argue with Johnny, he's never done it with speed. He's always done it with his intelligence and competitiveness and strength on the puck. So I don't really think slowing down is ever going to hurt. That's not his game anyway.

“He's not Connor McDavid. He’s just very consistent every day. I mean, over time, he's going to put up huge numbers just because this consistency is always there.”

* * * *

As they watch Tavares continue to build his legacy, those who know him best chuckle at suggestions he can look at times like a clinical robot who hides his emotions.

“Don’t be fooled by that,” Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “This guy might not show his feelings, but he is one of the fiercest competitors you’ll find.

“No one cares more.”

About his teammates.

And about hockey.

Just ask former NHL goalie Martin Biron, a teammate during Tavares’ rookie season with the Islanders in 2009-10.

At that time, actor Kevin Connolly was starring in the hit television show “Entourage.” Connolly was a huge Islanders fan and texted Tavares with an invite to a red-carpet event in Manhattan.

“John said he couldn’t go because we had a game on the Saturday,” Biron recalled.

“That’s fine,” Connolly said. “The event’s on Thursday.”

Tavares’ response: “Thanks but no thanks. He had to prepare for the game.”

“Two days before the game and he already was focused on it,” Biron said. “That’s how intense he was about hockey.

“He was just so mature when he joined us, far beyond his years. I remember our rookie party. I don’t think he’d ever been to something where everyone was getting hammered. We finally got him loosened up.”

To the point where he actually cracked a smile during one of his first practices with the Islanders.

“There were all these people in the stands to see him and he beat me with a sick deke,” Biron recalled. “The fans were going ‘Whoah.’ That’s when I spotted him grinning.”

Tavares wasn’t doing much of that when he made his first trip back to Long Island to play the Islanders as a member of the Maple Leafs on Feb. 28, 2019. Loyal Islander fans, feeling he had abandoned them, jeered him, called him a traitor and threw plastic snakes on the ice.

“I’ve never really been in an environment like that,” Rielly said. “We were his teammates and were there to support him. At first, we tried to find humor in it but then it got serious.

“The amazing thing: John felt it but never lost his composure. That’s John.”

What also defines Tavares, at least in Biron’s mind, is the impact he has on younger players. In recent years, for example, he’s opened up his home to new teammates like Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten who were just entering the League.

“He’s a great hockey player but he’s a better human being,” Biron said. “He’s amazing. He was a role model for 14, 15 16-year-old kids when he came into the NHL with us and was just a couple of years older than they were. Now he’s the same way with his younger teammates and, for that matter, his own kids.

“This guy could be on my team any day.”

* * * *

As he gets closer to No. 500, Tavares is asked which goal stands among the others.

He picked two.

On April 24, 2016, he scored the series-winning goal for the Islanders in double overtime that gave New York a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers and a 4-2 victory in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Seven years later, on April 29, 2023, he again scored an overtime series winner, giving the Maple Leafs a 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round. It was Toronto’s first series win in 19 years.

Because they are part of his 28-goal postseason total, they don’t count as part of his march toward 500. That doesn’t mean they are any less meaningful.

“I’ll always remember those because they helped the teams win and advance,” he said. “They’ll always be special.

“I haven’t won a Stanley Cup. Stats like 500 goals are great but that’s the ultimate goal.”

That from a man who’s scored more than his share of them.