It’s been almost eight years since John Tavares made the decision to come home and join the Toronto Maple Leafs, and since then, nothing has quite matched the hostility of his return to Long Island.
Islanders fans were livid—for good reason—and they put that on full display in Tavares’ first game back at the then Nassau Coliseum, giving their longtime captain one of the harsher welcomes we’ve seen in sports.
From the moment he stepped onto the ice in warmups until the final buzzer, New York was all over Tavares, and while some felt it was over the top or undeserved, former GM of both the Maple Leafs and Islanders, Lou Lamoriello, actually loved it.
“But I love the fans, I loved our fans and the passion they had, and what they did to get the building going… Really, it was a positive thing seeing what they did. Hey, we’ve got great fans. And they are great fans here. They’re passionate and they care, and so be it. He made that decision and paid the price,”
The now 35-year-old Tavares, of course, left New York to sign a seven-year, $77 million contract to join his hometown team in free agency in 2018.
Conversations around Tavares and his former team have resurfaced as the Maple Leafs will be in New York to take on the Islanders next Thursday at UBS Arena. The reception certainly won’t be anything close to what we saw back in 2018; however, the fans haven’t forgotten, and he still gets booed every time he touches the puck in his old stomping grounds.
Interestingly enough, it will be a pivotal game for New York in their push for the playoffs, providing Tavares and Toronto—whose season is all but over—the opportunity to upset Islanders fans even more by playing spoiler.
Next: Atlantic Division Team One to Watch for Darnell Nurse This Offseason?
Discover more from NHL Trade Talk
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
