John Tavares

BIOGRAPHY

John Tavares was born September 20, 1990, in Mississauga, Ontario. He is a forward in the NHL.

Tavares competed at the major junior level as a member of the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before being traded to the London Knights at the 2009 OHL trading deadline along with Michael Del Zotto. Tavares broke into the OHL after gaining "exceptional player" status at age 14, allowing the Generals to select him in the OHL Priority Draft as an underage player in 2005. Tavares was named the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Rookie of the Year in 2006 and CHL Player of the Year in 2007. In 2009, he finished the season with a career total of 215 goals, breaking Peter Lee's OHL record by two.

Tavares was the focus of an unsuccessful push to have the NHL's draft rules changed to allow him to participate in the 2008 Entry Draft, as well as an attempt to allow him to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a 17-year-old in 2007. Tavares was ranked as the top prospect for the 2009 Draft by both the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and International Scouting Services.

Tavares has represented Canada at five International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)-sanctioned events, including the 2010 and 2011 World Championships. At the under-20 level, he won gold medals at the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was named the most valuable player of the 2009 tournament after scoring eight goals and 15 points in six games. He also participated in the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships, but failed to medal. Additionally, Tavares represented Team Ontario at the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and 2007 Super Series. On January 7, 2014, he was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team, winning a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics despite an injury preventing him from participating in the final two games.

Tavares scored the first regular season goal for the Islanders at Barclays Center in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks during the first game of the 2015–16 NHL season. On March 12, 2016, Tavares scored his 200th career NHL goal in a game against the Boston Bruins. That season, he was also named to the NHL All-Star Game for the third time in his career and was voted captain of the Metropolitan Division.

On April 24, 2016, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Florida Panthers, trailing 1–0 in the final minute of play, assisted by Nikolay Kulemin and Nick Leddy, Tavares scored the game-tying goal off a loose puck in the crease with 53.2 seconds left in regulation. He finished the job by scoring the series-clinching goal in double overtime, winning a playoff series for the Islanders for the first time since 1993.

On January 13, 2017, in a game against Florida, Tavares scored his 500th NHL point in his 550th career NHL game, making him the first player from his draft class to reach the milestone.

On July 1, 2018, it was announced that Tavares had signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tavares cited "Toronto's chances as a Stanley Cup contender, as well as living out his childhood dream to play for his hometown team", as his reason for signing the contract. Tavares rejected higher-paying offers in favour of joining the Maple Leafs, such as the San Jose Sharks (one of the six teams vying for his services), who offered him a seven-year, $91 million contract. The Sharks' contract offer would have made Tavares the highest-paid player in the NHL. Tavares' decision to sign with the Maple Leafs proved to be divisive. Many were critical of the signing due to Tavares' decision to leave the Islanders despite the then-recent hirings of Hall of Fame general manager Lou Lamoriello and Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz. Many argued Tavares abandoned the team that drafted him after coming to the conclusion he could not win with them, but others countered with the notion that the Islanders had never put competent rosters and management around Tavares to give him the chance to win, and by the time they attempted to change the culture of the organization with the Lamoriello and Trotz hirings, it was too late to change Tavares' mind. Regardless, the signing was, and continues to be, one of the most controversial free-agent signings in league history. Sentiment in the Islanders organization continued to be bitter regarding the signing, as evidenced by Tavares' former number with the Islanders, 91, being retired in honor of Butch Goring, in 2020.

In his debut for the Maple Leafs on October 4 against the Montreal Canadiens, Tavares scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 overtime win. On October 7, Tavares recorded his ninth career NHL hat-trick (and first for Toronto) in a 7–6 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Tavares made his first return to Long Island to play the Islanders on February 28, 2019, in a highly-publicized, sold-out game. Tavares was relentlessly booed and heckled by Islanders fans throughout the match, including during his tribute video, and items were thrown at Tavares on the ice. The Islanders would win the game 6–1, scoring six unanswered goals after Toronto initially scored early in the game. On March 17, Tavares recorded his 700th career NHL point with his 40th goal of the season in a 6–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators; in scoring that goal, Tavares also became the third player in Maple Leaf history to record 40 goals in his first season with the team. On March 26, Tavares recorded his tenth career NHL hat-trick (and first four-goal game) in a 7–5 win over the Florida Panthers. In so doing, he became just the third player in modern team history (since 1943) to record multiple hat-tricks in his debut season with the club, following Wilf Paiement and Daniel Marois. In the Maple Leafs' next game against the Islanders, Tavares recorded his 87th point of the season (a new career-high and his first point against his former team) in the 2–1 win, which clinched a playoff berth for Toronto.

Prior to the 2019–20 season, Tavares was granted leave from the teams first pre-season game in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to spend with his wife and newborn son. On October 2, 2019, just before the first game of the NHL season, Tavares was named the 25th captain in the history of the Maple Leafs, filling a position that had been vacant for more than 3+1⁄2 years since the trade of Dion Phaneuf.

On April 5, 2021, Tavares recorded his 800th career NHL point with an assist in the Maples Leafs' 5–3 win over the Calgary Flames.

On May 20, 2021, in the Leafs' opening Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Canadiens, Tavares was upended by Canadiens defencemen Ben Chiarot. Canadiens forward Corey Perry attempted to jump over Tavares as he fell to the ice, however, Perry's knee clipped Tavares in the head. Ultimately, Tavares was stretchered off the ice and was transported to the hospital. After the game, Perry felt remorse for his role on the incident: "I don’t know what else to do there. I tried to jump. I know Johnny pretty well and just hope he’s OK." Tavares was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, and was discharged the following day, but was ruled out indefinitely with a concussion. In his absence, the Leafs would rally to win three games in a row, but would ultimately lose the series to the Canadiens in seven games, surrendering a 3–1 series lead in the process.