Why Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares Has Welcomed Rookies Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies Into His Home

John Tavares continues to make his home available to teammates and Fraser Minten is the latest to take residence with the  Toronto Maple Leafs captain.

"Yeah instead of hiring babysitters I just hire good guys from the team," Tavares said jokingly. "It's been great."

The 19-year-old Minten impressed during Maple Leafs training camp and earned his way to a spot in the opening-night lineup.

The typical process for a new player to join the Leafs is to take up residence at a hotel near Scotiabank Arena. However, Tavares changed that up beginning with Matthew Knies, when the forward joined the club as a free agent last season on April 9.

"Kniesy came in last year and was a real natural fit," Tavares explained. 

Although Knies had an offseason to figure things out, he is continuing to stay in the Tavares home. The Arizona native's spot on the Maple Leafs wasn't necessarily assumed despite his success with the club during the 2023 playoffs. As Minten proved, players still had to compete for a roster spot and the Vancouver native came out from under the radar to land a spot with the Leafs.

So it made sense to extend Minten the same invite, which he happily accepted.

"John takes care of us really nice at his house," Minten said before the Maple Leafs host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

Before the game, Minten had a good breakfast which included waffles, eggs and bacon. And a home-cooked meal can certainly make a player feel like part of the team. 

And that's Tavares' aim.

When the New York Islanders drafted Tavares with the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, he spent the first two years living with veteran forward Doug Weight.

"I hope it helped him being 18, being able to have home-cooked meals, having that family atmosphere," Weight told the New York Post in a 2017 interview.

Minten and Knies have spent most of their time together during training camp and have opened the regular season on the same line. 

Minten's current situation is a bit fluid. The Leafs do not have the option to send the player to the Toronto Marlies due to an agreement with the league and the CHL about junior-eligible players. He'd have to go back to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL if the Leafs decided to open up that spot on the roster to someone else.

From living with Weight to being sensitive to his teammates' situations, it made sense for the Tavares to pay it forward.

"For me to come full circle in a way it’s great," Tavares said. "And for Fraser, just trying to figure out his living situation and getting him out of the hotel and he and Kniesy have really kicked it off playing together and spending time with one another and my boys love it."

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