From Day 1, John Tavares has held up to his end of the bargain as a Toronto Maple Leaf

John Tavares has now been a Toronto Maple Leaf for a grand total of 1,990 days, and to this point, there’s no question that the Oakville native has lived up to expectation.

In the end, the only thing missing from the 33-year-old’s milestone night on Monday at UBS Arena, the home of his former team, was a victory. That said, the way in which he collected his 1000^th career point was pretty epic. The captain deflected a point shot right to Morgan Rielly who fired it home to tie the game at three with just 6.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Talk about theatrics.

Everything about the moment was perfect —aside from the whole Bo Horvat OT winner thing that would ensue it, of course.

Bottom line: Tavares deserves his flowers.

If there’s one thing that can be learned from the whole Shohei Ohtani soap opera, it’s to cherish the players who do choose to come and play in Toronto —regardless of their attachment to the city or not.

Indisputably, John Tavares would be the poster boy for that type of campaign. Yes, the circumstances surrounding his decision were a bit less complex compared to his Japanese counterpart but his willingness to take such a monumental leap of faith in his career can’t be stated enough.

John Tavares should be celebrated in this city. Plain and simple.

Since joining the organization on Canada Day of 2018, he’s been everything Brendan Shanahan could’ve asked for. For starters, Tavares, who became the 98^th player in NHL history to hit the 1000-point plateau, has continued to produce at a point per game pace well into year No. 6 of his seven-year pact. In fact, through 25 outings this season, he’s tallied 25 points. Furthermore, in 384 regular season games with the Leafs, he’s collected 377 points. The model of consistency has been a model of consistency. Go figure.

Most notably, it’s Tavares’ unfazed demeanour that sets him apart from others. He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low, and in this crazed market, that should definitely stand for something.

Well done, captain.