Leafs set to face milestone-reaching McDavid; Matthews still out injured

By Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press on November 15, 2024.

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Martin Jones (30) makes the save as John Tavares (91) and Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) battle in front during second-period NHL action in Edmonton on Tuesday January 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

TORONTO – John Tavares met Connor McDavid before the phenom had ever played a shift in junior.

Chris Tanev has trained alongside the superstar each off-season for more than a decade.

Both will once again try to find an answer for the milestone-reaching Oilers captain Saturday when Edmonton visits the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Not many opponents have unlocked the formula.

McDavid became the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points Thursday, hitting the mark in a jaw-dropping 659 games. The three Hall of Famers ahead of him on the list are Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513 games) and Mike Bossy (656 games).

“Insane,” Tanev said of the 27-year-old’s exploits. “Crazy to do it in the first place, and then to do it as fast as he did is an amazing accomplishment “¦ you look at the names, and they’re the best of the best.”

Tavares, the No. 1 pick by the New York Islanders in 2009, skated with McDavid in the summer of 2012 before the latter debuted with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters.

The pair were both granted exceptional status to play junior a year early, but Tavares could see the pressures were different for the most-hyped prospect since Sidney Crosby.

“A lot of attention,” Tavares said Friday following practice. “A very unique, a different time in terms of social (media) and those types of things.

“I don’t want to say he was uncomfortable, but you could just sense it was a lot for a teenager and a kid. I think he just wanted to play hockey.”

Now a three-time Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP and undoubtedly the face of the game, McDavid has grown into his role – especially after basically willing the Oilers to within a victory of the Stanley Cup last spring.

“There’s a real sense of himself and how he carries himself on a daily basis,” Tavares said of the top pick in 2015. “How he deals with the media, deals with being in the public eye.”

Tanev works out with McDavid and a group of fellow pros under the tutelage of former NHLer/fitness guru Gary Roberts each summer north of Toronto.

He said the on-ice sessions are eye-opening, but also help him at his own craft as a shutdown defenceman.

“You want to go against the best, right?” said Tanev, who faces the likes of Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander in practice. “They’re going to make you look stupid once in a while, but that’s how you learn and become a better player.”

Matthews, however, appears set to miss a sixth straight game with an undisclosed upper-body injury that started with a day-to-day timeline.

If the sniper who bagged 69 goals last season does indeed sit Saturday – Toronto’s captain has only skated twice over the last 12 days, and not since last weekend – he will have missed two weeks with the team not in action again until Wednesday.

Leafs head coach Craig Berube said his 27-year-old centre hasn’t had any setbacks in his recovery.

“We want to get him 100-per-cent right,” he said. “We want to get it behind us so he can move forward and we can move forward.”

When pressed on the timeline, Berube added: “Everybody’s different “¦ would I like him back? Ya, for sure. But it is what it is.”

The Leafs are 4-1-0 without Matthews since he last played Nov. 3, and an impressive 39-20-2 all-time in the regular season to go along with two playoff wins.

The three-time Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy winner as the league’s top goal-scorer would have gone head-to-head with McDavid on Saturday. Toronto will instead have to continue getting things done by committee.

“Tough how agile he is and how smart he is and good with the puck,” Tanev said of Edmonton’s No. 97. “You’ve got to be smart if you’re gonna try to take a run at him.”

Berube, who suited up against Gretzky and Lemieux in his playing days, reflected on McDavid hitting 1,000 points.

“You look at today’s game and how fast it is and just the structure of the game, how teams play defence,” said the coach. “I’m not taking anything away from the great players that did it before him “¦ they could probably come in today’s game and dominate still, but it’s very impressive.

“He’s just incredible with the speed and the agility he has, and the control with the puck at that speed.”

McDavid has also done well in navigating his stardom.

“He’s found a pretty good balance,” Tavares said. “What he does season-to-season, the type of player that he is, all that he has on his plate “¦ it’s not easy, but it’s impressive what he does.

“It’s always one of the toughest challenges of the year.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

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