Maple Leafs captain Tavares keeps chin up as lack of production grows

Article content

John Tavares is sticking to his script.

Article content

The Maple Leafs captain, though, would love to change the ending.

Article content

Tavares continues to put in extra work as he grinds through the longest point slump of his National Hockey League career, now at eight games as the Leafs head into a difficult home-and-home set against the Winnipeg Jets that kicks off at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

As usual, Tavares was on the ice early before the Leafs practised on Tuesday at the Ford Performance Centre and was among the last Leafs off the ice well after the formal workout ended. 

Not only is that the kind of approach Tavares has been using for practices in Toronto, each time the Leafs play a game, you could count the shifts he takes off on one hand and you wouldn’t require all five fingers. 

Article content

Article content

Yet Tavares’ slump has eclipsed a couple of seven-game skids he had during his rookie season with the New York Islanders in 2009-10, and his overall production has been on the wane for a while. Tavares has just five goals at five-on-five and none in the past 20 games, going back to Dec. 11 when he scored one on the road against the Islanders.

Matthew Knies (eight), Calle Jarnkrok (seven) and Nick Robertson (six) are among the Leafs who have more five-on-five goals than Tavares.

With 17 points at five-on-five in the Leafs’ first 45 games, Tavares is on pace for 31. 

Anyway you add them up, the numbers aren’t befitting for someone who is your second-line centre and carries an $11-million US hit against the salary cap. 

How does Tavares ward off the frustration with the lack of production despite keeping his work ethic in check?

Article content

“The next opportunity could be right there on that next shift, so you just want to be ready for it, not getting stuck on what happened, something that is now out of your control and in the past,” Tavares said. “Do good things without the puck, have a good process throughout my game and just staying the course and knowing there will be more opportunities and it’ll go in.

“I can’t say it’s a great feeling or an easy feeling (to not contribute on the scoreboard). I’m not trying to get caught up in the whole ‘What does it feel like when you don’t score?’ You want to produce and create opportunities and finish them off.”

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

If it’s still there for Tavares, if he hasn’t lost a step at the age of 33 with another season remaining on his seven-year contract, it’s past time for the goals and assists to come. With 34 points, he is on pace for 62, which would represent his lowest output in a full season since his NHL freshman year when he had 54. 

Article content

Tavares has prided himself on being a difference-maker. His faceoff skills — he was fourth in the NHL before games on Tuesday in winning percentage — and general awareness are positives, but with the Leafs in a tight playoff race in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, making a clear difference on the scoresheet is paramount. 

Success on the power play would help too. The Leafs are 1-for-15 in their past seven games with a man advantage.

Coach Sheldon Keefe continues to be patient with his captain, though it wasn’t that long ago (Jan. 13 against Colorado) that Tavares was benched for much of the third period.

Article content

“In John’s case, he has been through enough ups and downs that you recognize (the drought), but most importantly at this time in his career, he has far greater perspective of what’s really important,” Keefe said. “He needs to help this team win and producing on offence is part of that, but there’s way more to it for me. 

“If a couple of pucks fall in for him, but his habits are poor, that does not help us win. That’s really the message, not just for him, but for our entire team, is those habits and details and the work and the defending comes first and the rest of it falls into place.”

[email protected]

X: @koshtorontosun

Article content