Much-maligned John Tavares set to return to the Island

Much-maligned John Tavares set to return to the Island

February 27, 2019 Off By Jordan Stoopler

In what has become a tradition around the NHL in the last few years, a player who leaves a team, either via trade or free agency, is acknowledged by his former club upon his first game back in their old home rink.

Depending on the notoriety and length of stay by the player in said city, the player will receive one of three acknowledgements:

  1. Their face appears on the video board during a TV timeout, to which the player rises on the bench, generally to polite applause from the crowd.
  2. The player gets a short highlight video, also during a TV timeout, followed by a lengthier applause from those in attendance.
  3. Finally, for a player with a long history and great success with the franchise, the player will receive a video presentation before the game, with an announcement from the public-address announcer. The applause is typically louder and more pronounced.

When John Tavares returns to Nassau Coliseum Thursday night in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for the first time since leaving the team in free agency over the summer, he can expect a nice tribute (one of the latter two) from the organization who drafted him almost a decade ago.

After all, during his nine seasons in Islander blue, the last five of which spent as captain, Tavares scored 272 goals and added 349 assists for a total of 621 points in 669 games. He was arguably the one constant on some bad Islander teams, which finished last in their division four times during that span.

He made others who played on his line better (and richer) in careers that have gone on to be less than stellar elsewhere. Matt Moulson was a three-time 30 goal scorer across his four-plus years with the team, including a career-high 36 goals in 2011-12. He went on to sign a 5-year, $25 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres in 2014. He has gone on to score no more than 14 goals in a season across his last five year in upstate New York and currently finds himself with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Kyle Okposo had some of his best seasons on Tavares’ wing, including three 20-goal campaigns and 4 50-plus point seasons. He left in the summer of 2016, also for Buffalo, signing a 7-year, $42 million deal with the Sabres. He hasn’t lived up to the contract thus far, moving up and down the lineup and never hitting such aforementioned plateaus again.

Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau made a name for himself on Long Island, playing largely with Tavares during his two years with the team. He put up 53 and 67-point campaigns with the Islanders before signing a 4 -year, $16 million deal with the Colorado Avalanche on July 1, 2012. He only lasted two years in the Mile High City, before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. He made pit stops in Toronto, New Jersey and Nashville before ultimately retiring this past summer.

Tavares wasted little time acclimating himself to his new team, scoring his first career goal in his first game on Coliseum ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins and reigning Stanley Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

When the Islanders did make the playoffs, in 2013, 2015, and 2016, it was in large part thanks to Tavares. In 2012-13 and 2014-15, Tavares was in contention for the Hart Trophy, finishing third in voting each time, behind the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Carey Price.

Once in the playoffs, once again, Tavares carried the team on his back. He was nearly a point-per-game player in the post-season, collecting 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 24 playoff games across his playoff career.

The goals he scored were oftentimes timely and crucial for his team. There was that goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2015, coming just 15 seconds into overtime against the Washington Capitals, that gave the Islanders a temporary 2-1 series lead (they would eventually bow out in seven games).

And who can forget Tavares’ heroics the night of April 24, 2016 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Florida Panthers. Down by a goal in the final minute of regulation, Tavares tied it up to send the game to overtime, where he would score the series-clinching goal in double overtime to give the Islanders a series win for the first time in 23 years.

Yet, despite such heroics and incredible moments in orange and blue, fans appear to have a short memory ahead of Tavares’ return to Long Island on Thursday.

Their bone to pick with Tavares stems from his decision to leave the Islanders for the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency this summer. They particularly take issue with him not notifying the Islanders ahead of time that he intended to leave the team come July 1, thereby inhibiting the organization’s ability to acquire any kind of compensation for him at the trade deadline. He also had said publicly his intentions to remain with the Islanders for the duration of his career.

He has been called “a traitor”, “a snake”, and have vowed to cheer loudly Thursday night “We Don’t Need You.”

Tavares – Streamable

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Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has called on fans to re-think their plans to boo their former captain come Thursday night and instead, recognize the contributions Tavares made to the betterment of the franchise over the years.

Entourage star and Islander fan Kevin Connolly has also weighed in, hoping to convince fans to “take the high road” and show Tavares some respect.

Tavares has been putting up great numbers in Toronto since signing a seven-year, $77 million deal last July. He has scored 35 goals, just three off of his career-high, to go along with 31 assists for 66 points in 62 games with the Maple Leafs thus far.

Thursday’s game was originally scheduled to be played at Barclays Center in what was supposed to be the final game of the season in Brooklyn (the Islanders split their home games this year between Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum as they await construction of their new home rink in Belmont). However, the decision was made in late October to move the game to the Coliseum to accommodate the needs of the home team (the Islanders play again Friday night at home against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Washington Capitals) and likely to create a more special moment with Tavares having played most of his seasons on Long Island, not Brooklyn.

Tavares will have little time to think about his return game as the Maple Leafs host the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night before ultimately chartering to New York in the wee hours of the morning Thursday. There likely won’t be a morning skate or practice on Coliseum ice ahead of the game. He will just head to the rink and try to play through what should be a raucous crowd in a special building that has meant so much to him.

How should John Tavares be received by Islander fans upon his return to Long Island Thursday night?

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CategoryNHL
Tagsislanders John Tavares long island Nassau Coliseum new york islanders Tavares Toronto Maple Leafs