TRAIKOS: With Auston Matthews out, John Tavares needs to lead the Maple Leafs in a way that he’s never led before

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The second act of John Tavares’ seven-year tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs begins now, in a season that needs to be a couple of return to normalcy, however as a substitute has an air of uneasiness surrounding it.

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Nobody is aware of what fairly to anticipate out of the Leafs this yr. Not after the best way final season ended, with the crew blowing a 3-1 sequence result in the Montreal Canadiens in some of the embarrassing first-round exits in professional sports activities.

Even fewer know what to anticipate out of Tavares.

The final time anybody noticed the Leafs captain play in a significant hockey sport was 5 months in the past, when he needed to be stretchered off the ice after taking an unintentional knee to the pinnacle from Corey Perry in Sport 1 of the playoffs. Now Tavares is wholesome. However he’s additionally 31 years outdated, in a sport the place gamers of that age usually get slower and fewer productive — if not efficient.

In earlier years, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Even at his greatest, Tavares was thought-about the third- or fourth-best offensive weapon in Toronto’s arsenal, someplace behind Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. However with Matthews’ surgically repaired wrist holding him out of the lineup for the foreseeable future — and Zach Hyman now not on the crew and Ilya Mikheyev out for a few months with a damaged ankle — Tavares’ position simply received much more necessary.

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It gained’t be sufficient for Tavares to be a secondary scoring possibility or for him to guide simply along with his professionalism and his work habits, as he’s completed up to now. With Tavares now centering the highest line with Mitch Marner — if he is ready to swimsuit up after getting damage in a collision at apply — and Nick Ritchie on the wings, he must develop his sport in a method that he’s by no means needed to earlier than.

It’s not simply concerning the offence. Positive, it will be useful if Tavares can rating greater than he did final yr, when he managed simply 19 objectives in 56 video games. However much more necessary is whether or not he can discover new methods to justify an $11-million cap hit that’s at risk of changing into one of many worst contracts within the NHL.

Can Tavares turn out to be higher defensively? Can he develop a specialty on the ability play? Can he reinvent himself in a continually evolving league that’s getting sooner, higher and youthful with every passing yr?

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“I believe that’s already been happening for me,” Tavares mentioned of adjusting with the instances. “I imply, yearly is a brand new problem, a brand new set of circumstances, a distinct journey of issues I can study from and adapt in the direction of and understanding my position and duty and the way I can undergo the largest impression persistently.”

That’s one other method of claiming that Tavares understands he isn’t getting any youthful. Neither is profitable a Stanley Cup getting any simpler.

In his first yr in Toronto, he scored a career-best 47 objectives and 88 factors in 82 video games whereas on a line with Marner. That was again when the roster was so deep that Nazem Kadri was the third-line centre and the crew might nonetheless afford to maintain Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson round. The next yr, Tavares had simply 26 objectives in 63 video games. Final yr, he was scoring at a 28-goal tempo that was among the many lowest of his profession.

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And but, discuss to teammates and coaches and they’ll inform you that they anticipate nice issues from Tavares as he heads towards the midway level of a contract that’s at risk of wanting worse and worse with every passing yr. In any case, have a look at how he handled the pre-season.

Whereas most veterans have a tendency to make use of the exhibition schedule as a solution to get their legs below them, Tavares used the so-called meaningless video games to ship an announcement. Not simply to his opponents, however to himself. Tavares, who had two objectives and 5 factors in three video games, wished to show that he was wholesome and that he’s nonetheless a top-50 participant, one that’s deserving of a spot on Crew Canada’s Olympic roster in addition to the cash Toronto is paying him.

“He put in a number of exhausting work,” mentioned veteran ahead Jason Spezza. “Johnny is such an in depth man that there’s no stone unturned.”

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“Centered,” was the phrase that head coach Sheldon Keefe used to explain Tavares’ mindset.

“You would most likely all the time say that for John,” added Keefe. “I simply really feel that he’s taken it to a different stage. As a corporation, we’ve talked about elevating the usual that we had final season. And I might say that John’s as targeted as I’ve ever seen him.”

For Tavares, it’s all about desperation.

“We’ve talked about simply persevering with to be a tough crew to play towards,” he mentioned. “I believe when issues are going properly, it may be human nature to let the foot off the gasoline, whether or not that’s in a sport or a number of video games in a row. Simply with the ability to persistently push the envelope and the way can we discover methods to get higher and actually problem our opponents and problem ourselves to constantly by no means really feel like we’re snug with the best way we’re enjoying.”

The Leafs captain won’t be at a crossroads in his profession. However at his age, he’s at a degree now the place an excessive amount of time has been wasted. There must be a way of urgency to how the Leafs play this season. They should win. And they should win now.

And Tavares, who solely has so many good years remaining, wants to guide them in a method he’s by no means led earlier than.

mtraikos@postmedia.com

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