John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs and 500th NHL goal
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Indeed, when the 35-year-old became the 49th player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal plateau against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 29, there was very little reason to celebrate. Nor was he about to. Even with his milestone moment, the Maple Leafs were still trailing the Blue Jackets 6-2 in a game Toronto would end up losing 6-3.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs honored John Tavares with a special pregame ceremony on Wednesday to commemorate his 500th career NHL goal. Before the Maple Leafs game against the Utah Mammoth, the team showed a tribute video highlighting Tavares' time in Toronto. Tavares then skated from the bench to his family as the crowd cheered him on.