NHL: Preseason-Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs – Source: Imagn

The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to begin a crucial 2024-25 campaign following a summer that brought monumental changes to the organization.

Now-former captain John Tavares, who ceded the captaincy after five years to Auston Matthews, was noticeably absent from a handful of recent practice sessions.

He had been still feeling the effects of a hit he took from Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta last week. However, he was a regular participant earlier today and talked about his earlier absences.

“There’s just a contusion there. So, I think we just wanted some of the swelling and soreness to settle down,” Tavares said following practice on Thursday.

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“Obviously, the regular season is probably a different approach in how you’re coming back. And, you know, the medical staff did a great job as they always do. And I felt the extra couple of days there would just do me a lot of good in the long run, which I think it has.

“I feel really good this week. And happy to be back out here with the guys the last couple of days and preparing and pushing.”

Last season, Tavares had 29 goals and 36 assists. His future with the Leafs isn’t certain, as he’s entering the final year of the seven-year contract he inked in the summer of 2018.

Auston Matthews took over the captaincy from John Tavares in the summer

After five seasons as Leafs captain, Tavares voluntarily handed the captaincy to Matthews, who became the first American-born captain in Toronto history.

As he put it, he felt that Matthews taking over the leadership role was the right choice.

“As I took time to then think about things, look at our team, at Auston, myself, everything as a whole and try to be very aware of the process of where things are at…what Auston has become as a player, a person, a leader, it just made a lot more sense and felt more and more right to me as time went on and I thought about it,” Tavares said.

Tavares represents 1/4 of the current “Core 4” of the Maple Leafs roster, along with Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Matthews and Nylander were recently extended to long-term deals by Leafs management, while Tavares and Marner are without deals for next season.

It remains to be seen exactly how Tavares fits into Toronto’s long-term plans, but he’s made no secret that his preference is to remain a member of the Maple Leafs.