Zizing 'Em Up: Tavares closes in on 1,000 NHL games inspired by friends

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Sunday during the season, he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts to write his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up."

TORONTO -- John Tavares is on schedule to play in his 1,000th NHL game next Sunday when his Toronto Maple Leafs host the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena.
The veteran center embraces the fact that he's poised to become the 375th player in NHL history to reach that milestone, which is an unofficial badge of honor among players for durability and dedication to the sport.
What amazes the 32-year-old about approaching that mark is that it comes at a time when three teammates and pals from his minor hockey days in the Toronto area are closing in on the same milestone. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will do it either later this season or in the 2023-24 season, health permitting. Winnipeg Jets forward Sam Gagner played his 1,000th NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 29.
"It's pretty remarkable to think that three guys you grew up playing with before you'd even turned 14 have accomplished or are on the verge of accomplishing the same thing," Tavares told NHL.com. "When you are growing up, sure, we all dreamed of one day playing in the National Hockey League. But for us, no one could have predicted at the time we would get to this point."
Gagner and Tavares are best friends dating back to their days growing up in Oakville, a 20-minute drive west of Toronto. The two boys would spend gobs of free time playing on the backyard rink set up by Gagner's father, Dave, who had 719 points (318 goals, 401 assists) in 946 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and Canucks from 1984-1999.
"We'd spend endless hours out there and you could see even then John was going to be something special," said Gagner, who has 519 points (192 goals, 327 assists) in 1,008 NHL games. "And when John was 11-15, we were teammates with the Toronto Marlboros minor hockey organization.
"It's pretty wild to think that four guys who know each other like we do would hit that milestone in such a short time from each other. We didn't play with 'Stammer' and 'Petro' with the Marlies but I think back to our minor hockey team and some of the players we had on it, and it's pretty surreal. To think, a few of us are still going, well, I mean, guys are having great careers.
"I didn't play on that summer team with John, Stamkos and Pietrangelo, but it says a lot about what those guys have gone on to accomplish in the League."
Gagner is referring to the Toronto Blues, a summer team that Tavares joined at age 11 that included future NHL players Pietrangelo, Stamkos, Michael Del Zotto, Cody Hodgson and Michael Hutchinson. Chris Stamkos, Steven's dad, and Joe Pietrangelo, Alex's father, were among the facilitators of the stacked team that went 49-0-1 over a couple of years.
Pietrangelo is 83 games shy of 1,000. The 33-year-old has 548 points (134 goals, 414 assists) in 917 games with the Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues, and helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019.
"It's kind of a cool thing that we can all share this all together," Pietrangelo said Friday. "Stammer, Johnny and I played a lot together growing up, and we played a lot against each other in the OHL too.
"It's kind of a testament to us that we've been able to reach this mark, or at least approach it, fairly quickly. And it's always fun to be able to share some milestones like this with your friends."
Pietrangelo said he isn't surprised in the least at the success Tavares has enjoyed.
"He was always the best player," Pietrangelo said. "When we were younger, he was always good. He always played a year up from his age group."
And Stamkos?
"When you're a goal scorer, you're always a goal scorer and that's him, even back then," Pietrangelo said. "He and 'JT' were two of the best players on the ice pretty much every night when we were kids.
"I give them credit. There are a lot of kids who were really good growing up, and those two stuck to it."
To Pietrangelo's point about Stamkos's long-time ability to score: the Lightning captain and two-time Stanley Cup champion surpassed the 500-goal mark with a hat trick against the Canucks Wednesday and has 1,026 points (504 goals, 522 assists) in 967 NHL games. If he doesn't miss any games, the 32-year-old will hit the 1,000-game mark against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 5.
"It'll be special, just as I'm sure it will be for Johnny," Stamkos said. "It's not easy to get to that point. Hockey's a physical sport and takes a toll on your body, so to hit a milestone like that is quite an accomplishment."
Tavares, who has 940 points (411 goals, 529 assists) in 996 games, agrees.
"You think back about the journey and all the people you got to share it with to get to this point," he said. "And to think a group of your friends you've known for so long either have or will go through the same thing, it's really impressive.
"As it gets closer, you start thinking about those things more and more."

ONCE A MARLBORO, ALWAYS A MARLBORO

In March 2021, Tavares and Gagner began the process of becoming controlling members of the Marlboros organization that plays in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. For them, it's a chance to give back to the team and the system that helped them hone their skills for future lucrative NHL careers.
"We were asked if we were interested and, realistically, we wouldn't be where we are today without being Marlboros," Gagner said this past week, noting that the two-year anniversary of their commitments is coming up next month. "We owe a lot to that. So we felt it was a great opportunity for us to get back to the game, be involved, and help the next generation of kids realize their dreams."
Gagner said the busy schedule that goes with life in the NHL makes it difficult to be hands-on during the season but insisted he and Tavares are committed to the Marlboros for the long term.
"We've kind of tapped some people to kind of help us with that, but you know, when we're done playing, hopefully we can be more and more involved and have some guidance for those kids growing up. We're just looking to help," he said.
"We ran a hockey camp a couple of hours north of Toronto in Muskoka during the summer for the kids and it's something we plan to keep doing in the future, maybe even for kids who aren't part of the Marlboros organization."

'I JUST WANT TO HELP'

Connor Hellebuyck says his role as starting goalie for the Jets gives him "the ideal platform to try and make a difference," which is the reason he's co-authored with Thom Van Dycke a children's book to help Manitoba children's mental health.
In their recently released book titled 'Bucky Beats the Blues,' the lead character looks to find a trusted grown up to speak with and confide in when feeling sad, or, in this case, blue.
Wednesday is Bell's Let's Talk Day, a movement aimed at increasing awareness regarding mental illness. According to Hellebuyck, "I just want to help" is educating kids and offering encouragement that it's ok to talk about issues that can often be overwhelming, even at a young age.
"I saw the big picture and that's motivation enough," he told NHL.com. "I think suicide is so sad and the rates are way too high, and that includes young people. And you could break it down by demographic, but aside from that, I just think not enough is being done about very important issues. And this is a very important issue. I mean, where do kids turn to for help?
"I've always prided myself in having a strong mental game. And it took work. It took a lot of work. I had a lot of good teachers and my parents and others in my inner bubble, just a bunch of strong people. It made me start thinking when we start talking about mental health, how much of a lack of teaching there is. Because growing up, I didn't hear anything about it. I had to seek it out for myself. And I didn't even know it was mental health. I was just working on my game, you know?
"I think now that I'm in this situation I owe it to the next generation to try to do what I can to use the platform that I've earned to try to continue the talks and help provide a ladder system of improving mental health."
The Jets Project 11, which supports students and teachers in bringing mental health awareness along with positive coping skills into their lives, will facilitate the providing of 11,000 books to Grade 2 students.
"It just came out recently, but the feedback has been nothing but positive," Hellebuyck said. "There's even a helpline number at the front of the book.
"It's an area that still needs more help. And as a father now, it takes on even greater meaning."
Copies of the book are available at the Jets official on-line store and in person at the team store, with all proceeds going to Project 11.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

"I remember almost being late for my first game. It's two or three hours before puck drop, I'm learning my way around Long Island and I remember it being a pretty heavy rainstorm. You're anxious to play that first one, you're waiting around and around all day and eventually I waited a bit too long. I was sweating a bit on my way to the rink, but it worked out. And then the ovation I got when I was introduced, you don't forget things like that."
-- Tavares recalling his NHL debut for the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 3, 2009.

THE SUNDAY LIST

If you appreciate hockey greatness, consider this: Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are all scheduled to be at the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star weekend in Sunrise, Fla. Feb. 3-4. Just another chapter in an event that's had some cool, at-times special moments over the decades.
The Greatest of the Great (Jan. 27-29, 2017, Los Angeles)
With players past and present congregating for the NHL 100 Greatest Players event, there likely will never be another gathering of so many hockey legends like this one. For example, there was a press conference with Orr, Gretzky and Mario Lemieux sitting at the head table. Doesn't get much more legendary than that.
Oh Canada (Jan. 24, 2009, Montreal)
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin skated in for his last attempt of the breakaway event in the skills competition wearing sunglasses and a fishing hat complete with a Canadian flag, much to the approval of the fans at Bell Centre.
Star-spangled patriotism (Jan. 19, 1991, Chicago)
The 1991 All-Star game was the first major sporting event to be held in North America since Operation Desert Storm was launched as part of the Gulf War, which led to an emotional rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner like no other. The old Chicago Stadium was the original Madhouse on Madison and it was never more so than for that anthem.
Mr. Hockey vs. The Great One (Feb. 5, 1980, Detroit)
Gretzky had grown up idolizing Gordie Howe, nicknamed "Mr. Hockey." In the 1980 All-Star game at Joe Louis Arena the 19-year-old got the chance to be on the ice with his hero in front of a crowd of 21,002, the largest to see an NHL game to that point.