As Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares powered down the ice and fired a blistering shot past Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the win in overtime, he stepped into the doorway of history.
The 35-year-old has already made history this season, becoming only the fourth player — Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Ron Francis are the others — to surpass 500 points with two hockey teams (the New York Islanders and Maple Leafs).
But what Tavares inched closer to on Saturday night is something only 48 other players in NHL history have achieved: Score 500 goals.
It was goal number five on the season, but the 499th of his illustrious career.
“It’s crazy,” described Cayden Primeau, who’s only been a teammate of Tavares’ for a couple of weeks.
Players are often taken aback by the way Tavares prepares, whether it’s ahead of a game or even on an off-day. That includes Primeau, whose eyes widened on Saturday when asked about Tavares’ preparation.
“When we’re on the road, he brings a big extra suitcase of things to make sure he’s doing the right things. And when you see a guy like that, who’s achieved so much, it’s motivating.”
What’s in the suitcase?
“I don’t know,” he grinned.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube shared a story on Thursday about arriving at a hotel room on the road, only to find several grocery bags from Whole Foods.
“I’m opening all this stuff up and I’m looking at it. I’m like, ‘Who would eat this?'” Berube laughed. But they put it in the wrong room. It was JT’s stuff. So I made a delivery to him.”
Jake McCabe, a veteran in the NHL himself, says he’s learned a lot from being around Tavares.
“He certainly made me a lot better pro, just being around him, watching him, how he goes through his process, it’s quite impressive. I know we always talk about it, but just Mr. Steady every single year,” the defenseman said.
“And to have that in your room as a leader is super crucial for our team, and we certainly don’t take it for granted. And you’re not even just 499, but I think one of four people to have 500 career points on two different teams.
“It’s pretty amazing company that he’s sharing there, so well deserved. And you know, it’s all credit to him because he works his ass off for it.”
Only one player whom Berube has coached has been close to Tavares in terms of preparation, and that’s Ryan O’Reilly. The two won a Stanley Cup together with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe that year, too.
“When I coached him in St. Louis, he was like one of the best I’ve seen in the preparation and his routine and stuff,” Berube said earlier this week. “Never took a day off either. And JT’s probably above and beyond that. But it’s impressive. It’s impressive.”
Once Tavares eventually puts his stamp on another piece of hockey history, he’ll be only the second player to do it with the Maple Leafs. Mats Sundin scored his 500th career goal with Toronto, an overtime-winner against the Calgary Flames, on October 14, 2006.
Funny enough, the Maple Leafs’ next game is against the Flames on Tuesday.
“You don’t really need to coach (Tavares),” Berube added after Tavares scored career-goal number 499.
“He’s so professional and dedicated. He loves the Leafs. He loves the team. He just comes to work every night. He doesn’t ever take a night off. He doesn’t take a day off. Like, he’s always just doing his thing, working, highly competitive out there, and it’s great to be able to coach a guy like that.”
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