John Tavares probably should have won the Art Ross Trophy in 2015, but he didn't want it if he felt it wasn't deserved.
John Tavares probably should have won the Art Ross Trophy in 2015, but he didn't want it if he felt it wasn't deserved.
John Tavares is different.
From how he prepares his body for action to his generosity of opening up his home for new teammates like Matthew Knies, there appears to be no limit to the Toronto Maple Leafs captain's generosity and humility.
Now we know his humility came at the expense of one of hockey's top individual prizes.
During the 2014-15 NHL season, Tavares, while captain of the New York Islanders was in the midst of a close battle for the Art Ross Trophy, an award handed out annually to the player who finishes with the most points.
Kimber Auerbach is the vice president of communications for the Islanders. He recently penned an article about humility and how it breeds confidence as part of an assignment for a Master's Degree he is currently pursuing at University of Missouri.
In his piece, Auerbach talked about Tavares' run to the Art Ross Trophy. Part of Auerbach's duties with the Islanders are to communicate with the league if a player on the team came to him feeling they deserved credit for a point on a goal.
Tavares would never do that, even when points were crucial.
In fact, he did the opposite.
"That season, Tavares had me check video with the league to see if he earned assists on two separate goals. Both times, he was right—he should not have been awarded assists—so the points were taken away from his stat line," Auerbach wrote."The NHL heads of statistics were baffled when I went to them to check the goals. They told me they had never been asked by a player to take points away."
The two points removed from Tavares' stat line made the difference. He finished the season with 86 points, one shy of Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn, who won the Art Ross Trophy with 87 points.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqyL6zoaVNk[/embed]
"I remember Tavares’ teammates asking him, 'Why are you taking points away when you’re in this scoring race?' His answer? 'Because I don’t care about the individual award, but if I do win it, I don’t want to have in my mind that I didn’t deserve it.'"
It's previously untold moments like these that make you understand why Tavares is respected around the league beyond his skill.
"He’s a great man. I spoke to John about that story being included in my assignment and he was happy to help," Auerbach told The Hockey News.
Maybe Tavares did deserve to win the award. Based on the league's explanation it didn't sound like Benn was having his team go to the league to make sure he didn't get points he didn't deserve.
But for Tavares, it didn't matter and it's character traits like the one he displayed in 2015 that gives you a glimpse into why he's so respected by his teammates.
"Tavares’ humble act showed he had the confidence to do the right thing," Auerbach wrote."He didn’t need a trophy to prove he was one of the league’s best players."
Related
What to Expect Now That Ilya Samsonov's Arbitration Date With the Maple Leafs is Set