The Tavares Family Is Giving McKenna What Money Can’t Buy

There’s something easy to miss in the story about John Tavares taking Gavin McKenna into his home. Everybody talks about what Tavares can give the Maple Leafs’ new No. 1 pick. And that makes sense. Tavares was a first-overall pick himself. He knows Toronto. He knows the pressure. He knows what it’s like to be a teenager suddenly expected to behave like a professional.

But John Tavares isn't doing this alone. His family is, too. That matters and is worth talking about.

McKenna is coming from Whitehorse to Toronto. Welcome to culture shock!

McKenna is 18 years old. He's coming from Whitehorse and stepping into one of the most intense hockey markets in the world. Tavares and his wife, Aryne, have opened their home to him for the season, just as they did with Easton Cowan last year. They have also hosted other young Maple Leafs, including Fraser Minten.

That's not just a spare bedroom. It's breakfast. It's dinner. It's kids running around. It's family conversations. It's somebody asking how your day went when you get home from the rink. And, probably most importantly, it's a place where hockey doesn't have to be the subject of every conversation.

Tavares has talked about how valuable that can be for a young player. He knows from his own experience. When he entered the NHL, he lived with Doug Weight's family, and he has said that experience opened his eyes to things he didn't necessarily understand at the time. Now he's trying to give some of that back.

But another side of Tavares’ commitment deserves attention.

The Tavares family is making room. That's a commitment. There is a difference between telling a young player, “If you need anything, give me a call,” and saying, “Come live with us.”

The first is kindness. The second changes your household. And maybe that's what makes this such a nice hockey story. The Tavares family isn't simply helping McKenna become a better hockey player. They're giving him a place where he can still be an 18-year-old kid while he learns how to become a professional.

They get something out of it, too. Their children get another young person around the house. McKenna gets to be part of a family rather than just another player living in Toronto. And the Tavares children get a pretty unusual front-row seat to what professional hockey looks like when somebody their age is just beginning the journey.

The entire Tavares family is learning a valuable lesson, too.

Something bigger is happening here, too. This is how hockey culture is supposed to work. Tavares benefited when someone opened his home to him when he was young. Now he's doing the same thing. Cowan benefited from it last season. Now McKenna gets the opportunity.

One generation helps the next. That's how traditions are actually created. Not through speeches. Not through slogans painted on locker-room walls. Through people making room for somebody else.

The Maple Leafs can give Gavin McKenna coaches, trainers, nutritionists, development staff and all the resources an NHL organization can provide. John Tavares and his family can give him something different. They can give him a home.

And sometimes, especially for an 18-year-old kid walking into Toronto with the weight of being the first overall pick on his shoulders, that might be the most valuable thing of all.