John Tavares

John Tavares was born on 20 September 1990(35 years old) in Canada. John Tavares is Hockey Player, Zodiac sign - Virgo. More detail about John Tavares given below.

John Tavares Timeline

• 1990
  

  Tavares was born on September 20, 1990 in Mississauga, Ontario, to Barbara and Joe Tavares, who are of Polish and Portuguese descent, respectively. His maternal grandparents, Bolesu0142aw and Josephine Kowal, immigrated from Poland to Sudbury, Ontario, and his paternal grandparents Manuel and Dorotea Tavares immigrated from Portugal to Toronto, Ontario. At a very young age, Tavares moved to Oakville, Ontario. This is where he was first exposed to minor hockey through the Minor Oaks Hockey Association. Tavares also played soccer and lacrosse, and his highly competitive nature often led him to fight with other players. Tavares excelled at lacrosse, following in the footsteps of his uncle John Tavares, the all-time scoring leader in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), and was a ball boy for his uncleu0027s NLL team, the Buffalo Bandits. The younger Tavares credits his uncle with teaching him the importance of remaining unselfish, stating what he learned by following his uncle with the Bandits has made him better both as a person and a hockey player. Many skills he learned in lacrosseu2014such as spinning off checks and battling in trafficu2014transferred to ice hockey and improved Tavaresu0027 abilities as a goal scorer.

• 2005
  

  The Oshawa Generals held the first pick in the 2005 draft, and they selected Tavares, earning him the Jack Ferguson Award, which is given to the player picked first overall in the OHL Priority Selection. Tavares played his first OHL game on September 23, 2005, scoring his first OHL goal in a game held just three days after his 15th birthday. He showed he could play in the OHL immediately, scoring ten goals in his first nine games with the Generals, and finished the 2005u201306 season with 77 points, including 45 goals. Tavares was named to the OHLu0027s all-rookie team, and won both the Emms Family Award and CHL Rookie of the Year awards as the top first-year player in both the OHL and CHL respectively.

• 2006
  

  During his rookie season in the OHL, Tavares competed for Team Ontario in the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Saskatchewan as a 15-year-old, but failed to medal. Later that year, at the end of the 2005u201306 season, he was selected to join Canadau0027s under-18 team for the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships in Sweden, but failed to medal once more, falling to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game. Later in the off-season, he was invited to the under-18 teamu0027s summer training camp to prepare for the 2006 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, though an injury ultimately prevented him from participating.

• 2007
  

  As a 16-year-old in 2006u201307, Tavares was selected to represent the OHL for two games in January for the annual ADT Canada-Russia Challenge, including one game in Oshawa. Later that month, on January 25, 2007, Tavares registered a seven-point night in a 9u20136 win against the Windsor Spitfires. He scored four goals and three assists, including his 50th goal of the season in his 44th game. Towards the end of the season, on March 16, 2007, Tavares recorded his 70th and 71st goals of the season, breaking Wayne Gretzkyu0027s OHL record for most goals by a 16-year-old. He was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player in the league, and named the CHL Player of the Year.

• 2008
  

  Although he was born five days after the September 15 cutoff date for eligibility in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, there was a significant effort made to allow Tavares into the Draft. Following his 72-goal campaign in 2006u201307, Tavaresu0027 agents asked the NHL and NHL Playersu0027 Association (NHLPA) to make an exception for Tavares similar to the one the OHL had made in 2005. The attempt was unsuccessful and Tavares was required to wait until 2009 to participate in the NHL Entry Draft. In October 2007, it was reported that then-Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson Jr. had offered the 17-year-old Tavares a spot with the teamu0027s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. However, like the NHL, the AHL declined to amend its by-laws and Tavares subsequently returned to the OHL.The media hype he has encountered has led Tavares to remain guarded when speaking to the media, while his teammates and family attempt to shield him from the spotlight where they can. However, Tavares is regarded as a natural leader on the ice, and a player who puts his team first. The Oshawa Generals named Tavares their team captain in 2008, while he also served as the alternate captain with the Canadian junior team in 2009.

• 2009
  

  Tavares scored 40 goals in 59 games for the Generals during the 2007u201308 season, while his 118 points was placed him third in OHL scoring. Tavares led the OHL in scoring until he missed several games to represent the Canada menu0027s national junior ice hockey team at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. As Tavares was participating in the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, it was speculated that the Generals were ready to trade him to the London Knights. Tavaresu0027 future with the Generals had been questioned since the beginning of the season as the Generals were not expected to seriously contend for the championship, while the Knights were among the league leaders. The deal was made official on January 8, 2009, as Oshawa sent Tavares, Michael Del Zotto and Darryl Borden to the Knights in exchange for Scott Valentine, Christian Thomas, Michael Zador and six draft picks.Tavares made his debut with the Knights on January 11 against the Mississauga St. Michaelu0027s Majors. Making his return to Oshawa at the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game as captain of Team Orr, he recorded an assist in a 6u20131 win over Team Cherry, but injured his shoulder after Zack Kassian of the Peterborough Petes checked him behind the net. On March 8, 2009, Tavares set the OHL goal-scoring record with his 214th goal, passing the previous record held by Peter Lee. The next day, he received his third OHL Player of the Week recognition of the season.On July 15, 2009, Tavares signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders. His first NHL game was in the pre-season in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. He spent 22 minutes and 50 seconds on the ice alongside linemates Doug Weight and Sean Bergenheim in the Islandersu0027 3u20132 loss. Weight, a veteran NHLer, said, "Johnu0027s going to be a big piece of [an Islander rebuilding effort]." Tavares scored his first career NHL goal and assist in his first ever professional game, scoring on a backhander against Marc-Andru00e9 Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 3, 2009.Tavares led NHL rookies in scoring throughout much of his first season. In December 2009, he scored five consecutive Islanders goals over a four-game span to tie the club record for most consecutive goals by one player. He scored an empty-net goal against the Atlanta Thrashers on December 3, and both Islanders goals on both December 9 against the Philadelphia Flyers and December 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The record was originally set by Bryan Trottier, when he scored five consecutive goals in a 1982 game against Philadelphia. On March 17, 2010, Tavares scored five points (two goals and three assists) in a 5u20132 win over the Vancouver Canucks. At the end of the season, Tavares finished second in rookie scoring, behind Matt Duchene, with 54 points.Tavares earned another invite to the selection camp for the 2008 World Junior Championships and made the final roster for the tournament on his second attempt. He scored four goals to help Canada to its fourth-straight gold medal in the competition. Returning the next year, along with Zach Boychuk, P. K. Subban and Thomas Hickey from the previous yearu0027s gold medal-winning team, Tavares was selected to compete in the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. He scored three points in the first round-robin game against the Czech Republic, an 8u20131 win, and was named Player of the Game. In the final round-robin game against the United States, Tavares scored a hat-trick for his 12th career goal of the tournament to tie Eric Lindros and Jeff Carter for the all-time Canadian junior record. In doing so, Tavares helped propel Canada to a 7u20134 win that gave them the top spot in their pool and a subsequent bye to the tournament semifinal. He was also named Player of the Game for the second time in the tournament for his performance on the night. Meeting Russia in the semifinal and down 5u20134 with less than ten seconds left in regulation, Tavares fought off two Russian players along the boards and backhanded a shot towards the goal. The shot was blocked by defenceman Dmitri Kulikov a few feet in front of the net, but after the puck came loose, teammate Jordan Eberle retrieved it and sent it into the right side of the net to dramatically tie the game with 5.4 seconds left. Then, as the game was forced into a shootout, Tavares scored to put Canada up 2u20130 in the tie-breaker and into the gold medal game against Sweden. Recording an assist in the final, he helped Canada defeat the Swedes 5u20131 to capture their fifth-straight gold medal. Tavares finished the tournament with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in six games, second only to teammate Cody Hodgson in tournament scoring. Tavares was also named one of the top three players on the Canadian team by its coaching staff, as well as a tournament All-Star, Top Forward and MVP.

• 2010
  

  As New York opened up their season at home against the Dallas Stars on October 9, 2010, Tavares suffered a mild concussion late during the first period. The Starsu0027 Adam Burish bumped into Tavares, and the latter was unable to return to the game. He scored his first career hat-trick on October 23, 2010, in a loss to the Florida Panthers. He then scored his second career NHL hat-trick, as well as his first career natural hat-trick, on January 15, 2011, in a win against the Buffalo Sabres.

• 2011
  

  On September 14, 2011, Tavares signed a new six-year, $33 million contract with the Islanders effective from the 2012u201313 season through to the end of the 2017u201318 season. After being held pointless in the first two games of the 2011u201312 season, Tavares had back-to-back four-point games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. From December 29, 2011, to January 21, 2012, Tavares had 21 points in a 12-game point streak, seven of which were multi-point games. He was selected to play in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. In his first career All-Star Game, he recorded one goal and one assist. Additionally, during the 2011u201312 season, Tavares was named as an alternate captain for New York.

• 2013
  

  Tavares played with Mark Streit in Switzerland for SC Bern while the 2012u201313 NHL lock-out took place. During the shortened 2012u201313 season, Tavares was third in the NHL with 28 goals. He helped the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007, scoring 47 points in 48 games. Tavares was also named a finalist for the 2013 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHLu0027s most valuable player, on May 10, 2013. Tavares scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal against Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andru00e9 Fleury in Game 3 of the 2013 playoffs. He would finish with three goals and five points in six games as the Islanders were eliminated by the Penguins.On September 10, 2013, Tavares was introduced as the 14th captain in New York Islanders history, replacing former Islander Mark Streit of the Philadelphia Flyers, who served as team captain since 2011. On February 19, 2014, during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tavares suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a torn meniscus in his knee during the quarterfinal game against Latvia, forcing him to miss the remainder of the Olympics as well as the remainder of the Islandersu0027 season. At the time of his injury, Tavares ranked third in the NHL with 66 points in 59 games. The following season, he was selected for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, along with teammate Jaroslav Halu00e1k. Tavares finished the 2014u201315 NHL season as runner up for the Art Ross Trophy with 86 points, one point behind the recipient, Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn.

• 2014
  

  At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tavares injured his knee in Canadau0027s quarterfinal match, rendering him unable to play for the remainder of the tournament as well as the 2013u201314 NHL season.

• 2015
  

  On April 19, 2015, Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime against Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2015 playoffs. The goal, which gave the Islanders a 2u20131 victory, was the first game-winning overtime goal in the playoffs for the Islanders since 1993. Despite this, the Capitals won the series in seven games.

• 2016
  

  Tavares scored the first regular season goal for the Islanders at Barclays Center in a 3u20132 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks during the first game of the 2015u201316 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 1u20130 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.

• 2017
  

  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.

• 2018
  

  On July 1, 2018, it was announced that Tavares had signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tavares cited Torontou0027s 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 Sharksu0027 contract offer would have made Tavares the highest-paid player in the NHL. Tavaresu0027 decision to sign with the Maple Leafs proved to be divisive. Many were critical of the signing due to Tavaresu0027 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 Tavaresu0027 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 Tavaresu0027 former number with the Islanders, "91", being retired in honor of Butch Goring, in 2020.

• 2019
  

  In his debut for the Maple Leafs on October 4 against the Montreal Canadiens, Tavares scored his first goal for the club in a 3u20132 overtime win. On October 7, Tavares recorded his ninth career NHL hat-trick (and first for Toronto) in a 7u20136 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 6u20131, 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 6u20132 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 7u20135 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 Leafsu0027 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 2u20131 win, which clinched a playoff berth for Toronto.Prior to the 2019u201320 season, Tavares was granted leave from the teams first pre-season game in St. Johnu0027s, 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 u20442 years.