Tavares fully healthy, believes Maple Leafs core can end playoff woes

BARRIE, Ontario -- John Tavares said the body aches from last summer have gone away. The pain of going yet another season without winning a Stanley Cup Playoff series, however, has not.

Twelve months ago the Toronto Maple Leafs captain was recovering from a concussion and knee injury sustained in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup First Round against the Montreal Canadiens. While he was sidelined, the center could only helplessly watch as Toronto blew a 3-1 series lead and was eliminated in seven games.
Fast forward to the 2022 first round when the Maple Leafs held another lead in a best-of-7 series, this time a 3-2 advantage against the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. But cue another round of heartache for Toronto and its fans as Tampa Bay won the final two games, extending the Toronto streak of not winning a playoff series to 18 years.
"You never get over it," Tavares said this week. "It's difficult, especially when you have the type of hockey team we've had and how close we've been.
"You just have to put it in the past and get back at it."
The Maple Leafs have had plenty of practice at that.
By losing Game 7 to the Lightning 2-1, the Maple Leafs set a dubious postseason record by becoming the first team in NHL, MLB and NBA history to lose five consecutive deciding games in the first round. Tavares, who signed a seven-year, $77 million contract ($11 million average annual value) with Toronto on July 1, 2018, has been with the Maple Leafs for four of those, though his injuries kept him out of Game 7 against Montreal in 2021.
The 31-year-old had six points (three goals, three assists) against the Lightning and was one of Toronto's better players in the series, but that matters little to him now. It's time to regroup, reload and prepare for another run, he said.
"We've got to just keep finding our way," Tavares said. "Keep putting the work in and keep banging on the door. And obviously, we believe in our group. We believe that the core of our team is really special. So, let's keep staying at it."

For Tavares, that goal becomes easier this summer now that he is fully healthy.
"I actually didn't feel too bad last summer but it's nice to know that, as great as that summer was, [rehab] isn't part of this one," he said. "It's just nice to go in and know that's not part of it anymore.
"It's nice to kind of go into this summer with good health although, unfortunately, the season didn't end the way we wanted it to. So, then it's been time to work on what I need to work on and that's what I'm focused on."
Though the Maple Leafs kept their core forwards of Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner and William Nylander, and defenseman Morgan Rielly intact, they did make major changes in goal. Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are in;Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek are out.
"Look, it's tough to see guys leave, but management has done a good job the last few years of keeping the core together and filling the holes," he said. "We realize how hard management continues to work and round out our team, and we're excited about the upcoming season and the mix we have."
Tavares showed few signs of rust this week while participating in the Boots and Hearts Barn Burner charity game here. It helped raise $155,000 for Royal Victoria Health Centre, Rotary, PIE Education, Easter Seals and the Canadian Mental Health Association in Barrie in conjunction with The John Tavares Foundation. He had the capacity crowd gasping in awe at one point when he put about five dekes on goalie David Ayres -- the famous emergency backup goalie who became the first to win an NHL game when the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Maple Leafs 6-3 in Toronto on Feb. 22, 2020 -- before putting the puck into the net.
"It's a great event," Tavares said. "It's an excellent chance to give back. It's great our foundation can be part of it. COVID kind of slowed down our efforts the past couple of years, so it's nice to be back in the community and help."