The best of John Tavares
No one’s complaining about mega-contract after hot start,
Perhaps the best thing about the early part of this Maple Leafs season is that John Tavares looks like a younger version of himself.
He seems faster. Coach Sheldon Keefe said as much a couple of days ago. He seems to dominate shifts. He’s winning faceoffs, making plays and scoring goals.
Which is, of course, what you want in a captain taking up $11 million (U.S.) of salary-cap space.
“I’m always trying to work on my pace, being more dynamic. Something I’ve always had to work on is my speed and my quickness,” the 30-year-old Tavares said. “Trying to get a little bit lighter — not drastic. It’s something I’ve been mindful of the last few years.”
He said he’d been suffering through an oblique muscle injury that “really lingered, and it took a long time to get over that.”
He used the long layoff after the playoffs to his advantage: “The positive side of it, for me, was to be able to slow things down, rest up, get healthy and feel good about being able to start from scratch and build myself up. You feel fresh and healthy. I was able to reset mentally, and focus on those areas that can help me become consistent.”
There have been naysayers when it comes to the average annual value of his contract and its length (seven years, signed in 2018). There were fears he was starting to show his age last season, the beginning of the downside
that happens even to elite athletes.
But there’s no sign of it happening this season.
Tavares has had more shot attempts (39) and more shots on net (22) than at the same point in his previous three seasons, according to Sportlogiq. And most of his shots (16) and attempts (30) are coming from the slot, the hard-to-get-to area where offensive talent is rewarded.
Almost inevitably then, through six games, Tavares has four goals and three assists to sit among the league scoring leaders. Keefe is using him more often in the offensive zone: 51.4 per cent of his shifts have started off faceoffs in the offensive end, compared to 34.9 per cent last year, according to Evolving Hockey.
He’s won 64 per cent of his
faceoffs, 90 per cent on power plays, according to NHL.com.
So, Tavares remains an important contributor. More so, he understands his importance and isn’t letting his skills slide.
“He’s skating really well,” Keefe said of Tavares. “He looks really confident with the puck. He looks quicker to me than he did any point last season. He’s put in a lot of work this offseason, and we’re seeing the benefits of that here now.
“Whether it’s on the rush or whether it’s coming out of the corners in the offensive zone, attacking the net, or whether it’s coming back into our zone, he looks to me like he’s got an extra step this season. It’s serving our team very well.”
A hallmark of the Maple Leafs position-wise in the Kyle Dubas era has been strength down the middle. Between Tavares and Auston Matthews at centre, the Leafs boast a near unstoppable force that averages a combined 44 minutes a game.
In the North Division, only the Oilers have a better one-two punch with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. And now the Winnipeg Jets have joined the conversation, trading disgruntled winger Patrik Laine for Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was disgruntled himself in Columbus. Dubois and Mark Scheifele give Winnipeg an impressive duo.
Dubois, you may remember, seemed dominant as the No. 1 centre when the Blue Jackets eliminated the Leafs in five games in the summer post-season. Now the Leafs will get to face Dubois, probably the No. 2 centre in Winnipeg, another eight times in the regular season.
The team the Leafs face Sunday, the Calgary Flames, is no slouch at centre either, with Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm leading the top two lines.
Outside of the travel to Calgary, the Leafs took Sunday off. Matthews joined them on the flight, but remains day-to-day with upper-body soreness. It’s a four-game trip: two in Calgary, followed by two in Edmonton.
Said Tavares. “Mentally, physically, we’ve got to get ourselves ready to go and get ready to see the Flames for the first time.”