Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares has continued to defy age as he chases after career goal number 500.
The 35-year-old alternate captain has tallied 12 points (five goals, seven assists) through the first nine games of his 17th NHL season. His impressive point total to start the 2025-26 campaign is tied for 10th among all NHL skaters.
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No. 91 is aging like a fine wine and keeping Father Time at bay.
On Saturday, Tavares was sprung for a breakaway on a long-distance pass from Matthew Knies and scored the game-winning overtime goal to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. Tavares beat Buffalo netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a precisely-placed wrist shot.
He registered one goal, one assist, five shots, one hit and a plus-two rating across 17:23 time on ice.
The goal was Tavares’ 499th of his career, and it snapped Toronto’s three-game losing streak. He extended his point streak to four consecutive games, notching seven points (four goals, three assists) over the span.
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Tavares Climbs the All-Time Leaderboards
Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) warms up before a game.Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
It was his 19th career overtime winner. Tavares is now tied for the fourth-most overtime game-winning goals in NHL history. Only Alex Ovechkin (27), Sidney Crosby (24) and Brad Marchand (21) have scored more.
He recently became the fourth player in NHL history to record 500 points with two different franchises. Hall of Fame centers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Ron Francis previously achieved the feat.
The former No. 1 overall pick collected 621 points with the New York Islanders and has amassed 505 points through 524 regular season games for the Leafs.
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Tavares reflected on his ability to continue playing at an elite level despite having entered his mid-30s.
“There’s a lot of pieces to it,” he told Kyle Bukauskas of Sportsnet following the victory. “I think the biggest thing (is) still the feelings I have playing this game as I did as a kid — the love and passion that feeds into the grind every day to work on things, and push myself, and continue to find ways to get better, obviously keep my strengths what they are. The longer you play, the more knowledge and wisdom you gain, and I’m using that to my advantage.”
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Tavares currently ranks seventh among active skaters with 1,126 career regular season points. Should he remain healthy, he will target several milestones as he approaches age 40. For now, collecting goal number 500 is next on his list.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.