Tavares sees Leafs captaincy transition as an opportunity

John Tavares served as Islanders captain during his final five seasons in New York. He wore the 'C' during five of his first six seasons in Toronto. So, this year will be an adjustment. 

"It may be less front and centre, but a great challenge for me, great opportunity to adapt," the centre said. "There's definitely going to be certain responsibilities that Auston [Matthews] will take on and some of that is just naturally throughout the course of the year, especially I think either with you guys in the media or through the fan base and the messaging and communicating that way."

Tavares graciously passed the captaincy to Matthews during a news conference in August. His three kids sat in the front row wearing Matthews sweaters with the 'C' already on. 

"Everything's been really natural," Tavares said. "I think me and Auston have a tremendous relationship, a great amount of respect for each other."

"Any of those two guys could be our leader," said forward William Nylander. "So I think it's a lot of fun for Auston to take on that role and it'll be nice for John to step away from that."

There's no question how much it meant for Tavares, a local product, to serve as captain. But he also just turned 34 and is looking to fend off Father time. As he takes a step back in terms of leadership, Tavares is determined to keep his foot on the gas when it comes to his game.   

"I know it will be a little bit different, but I don't think it changes a lot of how I approach the game," he said.

The stakes are high for Tavares this year as he enters the final year of his contract with the Leafs. He's hoping to earn an extension and, with the 4 Nations Face-Off coming up in February, he's also hungry for another chance to play best-on-best hockey. 

On the opening day of training camp, Tavares described himself as being "as driven as I've ever been." Known for leading by example, Tavares has actually seemed more vocal since the captaincy change. 

"He's hungrier than I've ever seen him in my few years that I've been here," said linemate Bobby McMann. "Just how he talks. I think just verbally how he's communicating with guys, with every rep in practice, and wanting to push guys, but also wanting guys to push him. I know that in the summer he has guys up to his cottage and wants guys there to push him, wants the young guys there that got the work ethic to keep him sharp and keep him going."

Per usual, Tavares focused on his skating in the summer while working closely with former NHLer Patrick O'Sullivan, who is part of the Leafs player development staff. 

"As you get older, obviously your ability to improve is different than when you're in your mid-20s, early 20s," he acknowledged. 

Recovery is getting more and more important and, with that in mind, Tavares is embracing red-light therapy. 

"Yeah, that's made it out a little bit, eh," Tavares said with a smile. 

Pictures and a video of a topless Tavares bathed in a red glow were posted by Toronto based Kala Therapy during the summer. 

"The human body is designed to function with an abundance of natural sunlight," the Kala Therapy website notes. "The truth is, most people do not get nearly enough sunlight spending over 90 per cent of their lives indoors ... All you have to do is sit or stand in front of the device and your body and cells absorb the healthy light."

Tavares, who is entering his 16th NHL season, is featured on the company's website as an athlete endorser along with teammate David Kampf, former Leaf Michael Bunting and Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse among others. 

"Any time you can be a little more efficient, recover really well and come back the next day feeling good and be able to execute and have the energy needed to go out there and play the way you want to play is crucial," Tavares said. "So that's been a nice little addition there for myself. Added that to the routine a little bit."

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Tavares has started camp on a line with McMann and Nick Robertson. 

"Both are really good shooters," Tavares noted. "Bobby impacted the game really well for us in the second half of the year last year and came on and established his game, and you can see a lot of growth there, maturity, and belief in how he can do that."

After clearing waivers and starting in the American Hockey League last season, McMann emerged as a key contributor for the Leafs during the second half of the season. The 28-year-old from Wainwright, Alta. native scored 13 goals in 30 games down the stretch before sustaining a knee injury late in the regular season. He was almost ready to return when the Leafs lost Game 7 to the Boston Bruins. 

"I was close," the 6-foot-2, 210-pound winger said. "The focus right now is just making sure that I'm healthy for this season and making sure that I'm ready to go, because this is the year that counts, and this is the year in front of us."

McMann was still working his way back from an adductor injury at last year's training camp. 

"The previous years, especially last year, I was battling just to feel healthy, and every day I was just kind of worrying about, 'Am I going to feel good today?' McMann recalled. "This summer and this year it's like, 'How can I get better? How can I work on things? How can I improve my game to contribute?'"

McMann is a late bloomer with only 66 career NHL games under his belt. As a result, he still feels like he has a lot of room to improve and is focusing on his East-West play right now.  

"Finding guys laterally, playing a little bit more cerebral," he said, "but making sure that I stick with what's been working and playing hard and physical and fast."

McMann will lean on Tavares for advice as he looks to take another step. 

"He's always trying to help guys, make sure he's pointing them in the right direction, especially me," he said. "I felt like a lot of leadership has come from him and guidance, so it's been great."

"We communicate a lot," said Tavares, "talk a lot and have really good feel for how we play. So that's a big part of chemistry."

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Tavares scored a goal in Saturday's scrimmage at training camp to help Team White defeat Team Blue 3-0. Tavares backhanded in a loose puck in front of the net. Nylander couldn't quite get back to disrupt the play. The Swede is making the transition from wing to the centre at this camp and there have been some early growing pains.

"There are things that I saw today in practice where I tried to talk to him on the bench about it," said Berube, who stood behind Team White's bench during the two 20-minute periods. "There are certain situations where I see him, and I'll talk to him about it. He'll learn. He is a smart guy. He is a smart hockey player, and he is coachable."

Berube was asked what he'll be looking for to see if the experiment is working. 

"As a centre, your play in your own end down low, breakouts, being in the right position, and working to get back quickly to help the D out are very important," he said. "I don't think it is going to be an issue with him getting the puck and transporting it up the ice. He is an elite player. He has that ability. But it is the details of the defensive part of the game, the breakouts, and positioning that take a little bit more time."

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Joseph Woll missed Game 7 of last season's playoff series against Boston due to a back sprain. 

"You know it was obviously not a great experience," the 26-year-old goalie said. "But, you know, as much as we can talk about that, honestly, I'd prefer to talk about now and put Game 7 in the past ... let's focus on what we got ahead."

The Leafs see a lot of good things ahead for Woll, which is why they signed him to an extension (three years with an annual average value of $3.66 million) the moment he was eligible to do so in July. 

"It's pretty awesome to know that they have faith in me," said Woll, who will make $766,667 this season. "That's something I was really proud of. That's something you have to earn from staff and from players and from coaches, but that's something you have to continue to earn. So, I'm looking forward to this year to continue to earn that faith and that trust. I'm just going to try to do everything I can to help this team."

With Ilya Samsonov struggling early last season, Woll became the team's No. 1 goalie before a high-ankle sprain forced him to the sidelines on Dec. 7. By the time Woll returned to the lineup in February, Samsonov had re-asserted himself as the starter. 

Woll replaced Samsonov midway through Game 4 of the series against Boston and led the Leafs to wins in Game 5 and 6. Then the back injury occurred on the final play of Game 6. 

Injuries have plagued Woll during his young career, which influenced his summer training. 

"I was just trying to focus on stability throughout my body a lot more," he said. "From the time I first got on the ice I felt that translated well so that was one of the things I tried to focus on."

"He had a great offseason," observed defenceman Morgan Rielly. "He's confident. He's feeling good ... He's really focused. I think he's just looking forward to more playing time, bigger workload."

Woll made a career-high 25 starts last season, including two in the playoffs. He's only started 38 games in his NHL career, including four in the playoffs. 

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The Leafs decided not to bring back Samsonov after his rollercoaster year. Instead, Toronto signed Anthony Stolarz, who started a career high 24 games last season with the Florida Panthers. 

So, like Woll, Stolarz is in line to play more than ever before this season. But the 30-year-old didn't make any changes to his summer routine to prepare for the increased workload. 

"Just because our season went so long last year, I just picked up right where I left off in Florida," he said. "Just not really having that long of a summer, I kinda just decided to just keep things rolling."

Stolarz points out the he's played a lot in the AHL, including a 39-game run with the San Diego Gulls in 2019-20 and a 47-game season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2015-16. 

"So I've had experience as a starter before," the New Jersey native stressed.

Stolarz also highlighted the positives of a tandem setup where both goalies share the workload. 

"I feel like a lot of teams are doing that," he said. "I've had experience with that with Alex Lyon back in Lehigh Valley. And I think that you kinda stay fresh. And as a goalie, I think that's the most important thing. You stay fresh and you're in the right mindset and it allows you to go out there and perform at your best."

"There is good competition in net," said Berube. "It will play itself out in camp. Probably, we are going to see them play more game than they have in the past."

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Jani Hakanpää, who signed a one-year deal with the Leafs earlier this month, practised with the developmental group at training camp on Saturday. The 6-foot-7 defenceman, who is working his way back from a knee injury, wore a no-contact sweater. 

"He is getting better," Berube said. "He is doing well. I talk to him daily about his situation, how he is feeling, and where he is at. He is getting better. I think it is close. Hopefully, next week, he will be in the group with us."

Forward Steven Lorentz, who is at camp on a professional tryout, missed a second straight practice due to an upper-body injury. 

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Lines in Saturday's practice/scrimmage:

TEAM WHITE

Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Tavares - Robertson
Cowan - Quillan - A. Nylander
Steeves - Pare - Tverberg

Rielly - Tanev
Rifai - Timmins
Mermis - Villeneuve
Chadwick - Myers

Woll
Murray

TEAM BLUE

Domi - Nylander - Jarnkrok
Pacioretty - Holmberg - Grebenkin
Hirvonen - Kampf - Reaves
Barbolini - Shaw - Abruzzese 

Ekman-Larsson - McCabe
Benoit - Liljegren
Webber - Mattinen
Kokkonen - Niemela

Stolarz
Hildeby