Significant News Announced Involving Maple Leafs Forward John Tavares
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski - USA Today Sports
A substantial announcement coming out of Toronto on Wednesday has former Maple Leafs captain John Tavares at the centre of an important announcement.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the player who best exhibits the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
All 32 NHL teams nominate one player who best exemplifies the aforementioned qualities before it's narrowed down to three nominees, where the winner is chosen at the NHL Awards ceremony.
This year, the Toronto Maple Leafs' nominee for the prestigious award named after Bill Masterton, who unfortunately was the only player in NHL history to die as a result of an injury during a game, is ex-Leafs captain John Tavares.
For Tavares it's been a revitalizing season, which started with him handing over the captaincy to Auston Matthews. Despite having to relinquish the captaincy, he has not let things impact his game negatively. Quite the opposite, actually. He's currently up to 37 goals and 71 points in 70 games after a disappointing season in 2023-24, where he mustered up just 29 goals and 65 points.
For the veteran, it has been nothing but status quo as he's exhibited all the traits that the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy exemplifies. Handing over the captaincy is never an easy thing to do, especially in a city like Toronto, but Tavares was on board, which made the transition as smooth as possible.
That allowed him to play a little more free this year, which is something the veteran is fortunate for and believes has given his game new life, as reported by Nick Barden from The Hockey News.
"I really enjoy what I'm doing. I feel like it's an amazing opportunity to do something you first fell in love with as a kid. I kind of just feel like a kid every day, and getting to play a sport and a game that I love and I've been doing my whole life, and to get to do it in a tremendous place, where I'm from, all those sorts of things. Every day is really exciting, and you can't beat it."
He continued by adding that while it was a monumental decision on the surface, it was something that was never going to change the way he approached the game, despite the obvious successes we've seen to date.
"I never looked at it as something that was going to change my approach or how I lead or how I play and how I expect to come in and the level that I need to play at and just your dedication, work ethic, I think my enjoyment and passion for the game."
"I just took it head on, really believed it was the right thing to do. I didn't worry about what people were saying or what opinions that were going on, just try to do the right thing and go about my business that I always have, and I expect myself to be at a very high level and help contribute."
"I just took it head on, really believed it was the right thing to do. I didn't worry about what people were saying or what opinions that were going on, just try to do the right thing and go about my business that I always have, and I expect myself to be at a very high level and help contribute."
In a contract season, Tavares has exceeding expectations but that's not something that he tries to preoccupy himself with. With the playoffs looming, the primary goal of winning the Stanley Cup remains at the forefront, while everything else sorts itself out.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 9 | 2073 ANSWERS Significant News Announced Involving Maple Leafs Forward John Tavares Will John Tavares finish the season with 40 goals? (Currently at 37) | ||
| Yes | 1686 | 81.3 % |
| No | 387 | 18.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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