John Tavares officially is on the road to recovery.
The Maple Leafs captain revealed such Friday, one day after being stretchered off the ice in Toronto's 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the teams' first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Tavares took an inadvertent knee to the head from Canadiens forward Corey Perry after a huge hit from Habs defenseman Ben Chiarot in the first period Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The Leafs released a statement Friday morning saying Tavares had been discharged from the hospital and will be out indefinitely. The 30-year-old forward issued a very encouraging update a few hours later.
Here's Tavares' full statement:
The support I've felt since last night cannot be put into words. I'm thankful to share that I'm back home and recovering. Thank you to my family, friends, teammates, the Maple Leafs organization, Leafs Nation and the hockey community for being by my side.
Also, thank you to both medical teams, emergency services and everyone at St. Mike's Hospital for their exceptional care to help me get back on my feet.
I look forward to when I can wear the Maple Leaf on my chest again. Until then, I'll be cheering on the boys along with Leafs Nation as we compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tavares, who gave a thumbs up while being stretchered off the ice, is in his third season with the Maple Leafs after nine seasons with the New York Islanders. The 2009 first overall pick totaled 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points in 56 games during the regular season.
It's unclear whether Tavares' campaign is over due to the concussion, or if Toronto will advance far enough in the postseason for the star forward to potentially return. It's great to hear he's doing well, though, and our thoughts certainly are with him as he gets back on his feet.
