Leafs’ John Tavares gets encouraging update amid injury concerns

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares looked to have sustained an injury in Tuesday night’s 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, but the captain is good to go ahead of a date with the Arizona Coyotes at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.

“We all saw Tavares in discomfort on the bench on Tuesday which has fuelled some speculation there is an injury situation,” reported TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger. “However, after checking with the team and the agent I’m told there is nothing health wise going on with JT.”

Tavares has seen his role diminish lately, watching Max Domi take his spot at second-line centre and Tyler Bertuzzi usurp him on the top powerplay unit. But the veteran has taken it in stride.

“You just want to do what you can to help the team and obviously [something head coach Sheldon Keefe] felt was necessary to do,” he explained, per TSN’s Mark Masters. “You control what you can control and be ready to play every time your name’s called to go over the boards, and continue to push to get better.”

Tavares was lining up with Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson, two rookies who have played only a handful of NHL games. Meanwhile, Domi has been playing with Bertuzzi and team points leader William Nylander. But it hasn’t seemed to bother JT.

“I think it’s been a good week for myself. Playing with Robby and Bobby, doing some really good things, and obviously want to keep getting better. We got a really strong hockey club so the goal’s to go out there and win and do something really special. So just try to do whatever you can to contribute to that.”

Say what you want about JT, but that’s the right attitude to have for a player who is in the midst of a down season. He’s at 17 goals and 43 points in 56 games after scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace with the Leafs in 2022-23.

Sheldon Keefe impressed with Tavares’ attitude

Keefe likes what he’s seen from his captain lately, especially as he’s been on the ice much less than he’s used to.

“John is all about the team and doing whatever is asked of him,” the bench boss explained. “It was pretty straightforward, as I expected it would be. John is all business. He gets it. He is focused on one thing, which is helping our team win in the end. He is on board with anything that can help with that. He has handled it terrifically since then in terms of his play, his demeanour, and not having it affect his role as a leader and a captain.”

In his first 51 games, John Tavares was averaging over 18 minutes of ice time per game. Over the last few contests, he’s down to just under 16 minutes. But the captain is healthy, and that’s the most important thing ahead of Thursday’s tilt with the Coyotes.