1 week Ago By Terry Koshan
Article content John Tavares’ love of the game of hockey dovetails nicely with his dedication to the sport. As such, and coupled with his continuing excellence for the Maple Leafs, the 34-year-old veteran has been nominated by the Toronto chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton is awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game.
In 2024-25, that description fits Tavares — who said it was “awesome” to be the Leafs nominee for the Masterton — to a T. In a season following a Leafs captaincy change to Auston Matthews from Tavares, the latter has gone about his business without so much as a ruffle in his overall performance. All the while, Tavares has done so without the cushion of a contract beyond this season.
When nominated, Tavares had 70 points in 69 games. With 36 goals, Tavares was within three of scoring his second-most in a season in his 16th year in the NHL. “It’s just I love what I do,” Tavares said of his dedication to his craft.
“I feel like it’s an amazing opportunity to do something that you first fell in love with as a kid, so I feel like a kid every day, getting to play a sport and game that I love and I’ve been doing it my whole life. “To get this point, to get to this level, the level of detail and the level of work ethic is necessary. Being supported by many great people as well, who mentored me and made an impact, all the teammates you play with, coaches, help instill those different types of values that are necessary.
” The absence of the ‘C’ on the front of Tavares’ Leafs sweater hasn’t diminished his leadership nor his respect in the dressing room. Now an alternate captain, Tavares sets an example on a daily basis, whether it’s acting as a sounding board for his teammates or consistently staying on the ice after practice to work on honing his skills. “There is a lot of thought behind it,” Tavares said of the captaincy change.
“You try to do the right thing for what you feel is right in the biggest picture for the team and doing everything you can to help the team win. “What Auston means to this team and the person he is and the player that he is, it made a lot of sense that the time was right to take the reigns and be the captain and for me to continue to go on and do what I do. I didn’t look at it as something that was going to change my approach.
“I took it head-on, really believed it was the right thing to do, didn’t worry about what people were saying.” Not only did Tavares record the 1,100th point of his NHL career in a game on March 20 against the New York Rangers, he has maintained his spot as one of the top faceoff men in the league winning 58.5% of his draws.
Tavares’ contributions have not been done in a vacuum, as the Leafs, in the final week of the regular season, have put themselves in a position to win the Atlantic Division. About the only question pertaining to Tavares regards his next contract. Though free agency looms this summer, the Oakville native wants to remain with the Leafs.
The lack of a new deal has not weighed on him. “That stuff is outside the boards,” Tavares said. “When your contract is coming to an end, the mindset of how I play and how I approach the game hasn’t changed.
It goes back to my enjoyment and my passion for the game and still feeling like a kid every day. “Playing at this level, we get paid very well and I’m in a pretty good spot. (I have) a lot of trust and belief that it will all work out.
It’s Year 16 and I’ve done very well in the league financially. There will come a time when it will be addressed and it will get taken care of. I just go out there and enjoy playing.
” The Leafs have had one winner of the Masterton Trophy since it was awarded for the first time after the 1967-68 season. In 2008, forward Jason Blake won the Masterton after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukaemia. Blake played in all 82 games in 2007-08 and had 52 points.
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