Tavares back, with no excuses
Captain says he’s 100% healthy after concussion and knee injury in May
John Tavares says he’s 100 per cent healthy and ready to go.
The Maple Leafs captain suffered a concussion and a knee injury on his second shift of Toronto’s playoff opener against the Montreal Canadiens in May, and was done for the series. But he’s scrimmaging now and going flat out to prepare for the NHL season, with training camp just around the corner.
“I had a tremendous amount of support, but I’m doing great,” Tavares said Friday. “I really didn’t have any issues coming out of the hospital, obviously, other than the trauma of the event. It was obviously something significant. I just feel really fortunate that everything was clean and I am feeling great.”
In fact, had the Leafs won the first round Tavares believes he would have been back for the second. He had taken a morning skate prior to the fateful Game 7, but concussion protocols ruled him out.
“There’s a lot of things that you have to get through to check the boxes and make sure you’re kind of cleared to go,” said Tavares. “For myself, I wanted to be over the top in terms of the way I was feeling. I don’t want to be going out there with any reservations and worrying that you’re not really, truly 100 per cent confident in your ability or your health.”
All good now, though, as Tavares and several teammates took part in drills with kids at Mitch Marner’s fundraising event for the Marner Assist Foundation at the Sports Village in Vaughan.
Tavares’s injury may well have been a key reason why the Leafs lost a series in which they were heavy favourites.
“It’s easy to say, but it doesn’t matter,” said veteran forward Jason Spezza. “It’s sports, and when guys go down you have to step up. There’s really no excuse for losing the way we did.
“Obviously, we’re a better team with Johnny in the lineup. That’s not a secret. He’s one of the catalysts of our team. So yeah, maybe (they’d have won with if he was healthy), but it’s not something that we’ve really talked about much because you’re built to be able to withstand that stuff. So not being able (to win) was very disappointing for us.”
Does Tavares think his presence for the full series would have made the difference?
“We really will never know,” said Tavares. “I’d like to think I make a strong impact. I’ve got a lot of belief in my game and, with the role that I play, that I can go out there and help the team win. But we didn’t win.”
Indeed, they faced another summer of disappointment after five years in a row of failing to win a round.
“As disappointing and difficult as it was, it’s another opportunity to grow and find our way past some of the hurdles that we’ve been having,” said Tavares. “We’ve obviously got a really good hockey team and (improved in) a lot of areas last year. But we know we’ve still got many things ahead to get better at and work out (to) help us prepare for hopefully another opportunity.”
Changes were inevitable. Zach Hyman, Frederik Andersen and Joe Thornton are among those playing elsewhere. But Tavares and Spezza say they’re energized by some of the new faces, such as forward Nick Ritchie and goalie Petr Mrazek.
“We’ve brought in a lot of depth,” said Spezza, “brought in some guys that are hungry.”
“The team is still really strong and intact and we know the type of group we have,” said Tavares. “So we’re excited. To be in a position where you’re in (contention) year-in, year-out was the major reason why I came. I believe that we always have a really good chance to compete, to make the playoffs. And obviously that gives us a chance to get to the Stanley Cup.”