Leafs/artist make huge mistake on John Tavares' 1000 point gift from the team
Last Monday, Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares recorded two points against his former team, the New York Islanders, including an assist on the tying goal in the dying moments to send the game to overtime. That assist was point number 1000 for Tavares in what was a losing effort.
On Tuesday night against the New York Rangers, the Leafs' captain was honoured for reaching the milestone that only 97 other players have reached in the history of the NHL. Prior to puck-drop, Tavares was presented with a gold stick and one-of-a-kind painting commemorating his time as a Leaf. Joined by his family, Tavares was presented the gold stick by Leafs alumnus Darryl Sittler, who also gave his sons Jace and Axton gold mini sticks, as well as his baby girl, Rae.
The painting showcased 3 images of Tavares, each wearing a different jersey, and the details are immaculate. The artist also replaced Tavares' name and the CCM logo on one of his sticks and gloves and had the names of his sons painted in instead. The lower left stick has Axton's name while the thumb of the gloves on the same image has Jace's name. A very nice touch.
The artist, however, did not include his daughter Rae on any part of the photo, which comes as a bit of a surprise. Whether by design or just a simple mistake, the photo itself is certainly more meaningful with the addition of Jace and Axton's names.
I'm sure that the artist was probably working off of images that pre-date when Rae was born. For all we know, the painting has been in the works for months ahead of time. Judging by the detail, it probably took quite awhile to finish, so the artist may even have started before his daughter was born, back in the spring. Tavares was just 25 points away from the 1,000 mark at the end of last season, so it does stand to reason that the artist may have simply begun work on the piece quite some time ago, knowing that Tavares would hit the mark during the 2023-24 season.
Whatever the reason, I'm sure nobody minds. It is a work of art, after all, and Rae will be featured in the videos and photographs of the milestone celebration event itself, so I'm sure there's no harm, no foul.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 21 | 928 ANSWERS Leafs/artist make huge mistake on John Tavares' 1000 point gift from the team John Tavares needs 64 goals to hit 500 goals before the end of his current contract in Toronto. Do you think he does it? | ||
| Yes | 564 | 60.8 % |
| No | 364 | 39.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
