John Tavares Long Island Return

Tomorrow night is a night that most Islanders fans have had marked down on the schedule since it was announced over the summer. John Tavares, former Islanders captain, makes his return to Long Island for the first time since bolting for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's not going to be a pretty homecoming back to Long Island.

Sure he's having a good year in Toronto, with 66 points heading into the contest. The Leafs are also sitting in the 2nd spot in the Atlantic division, trying to catch the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tavares is a big reason for that. When he left Long Island, after nine years of service, more than 600 points and countless memories, he left behind a pretty good legacy. He also left a sour taste in a lot of fans mouths. The fact that Tavares not only left, but the way he left, angered a lot of fans here in New York and who could blame them.

I was unhappy more with the way Tavares left than the fact that he left. I kind of had a feeling he was going to leave because he didn't have the contract signed during the season. My theory always will be that management, at the time, didn't do nearly enough to keep his superstar happy and build a contending team around him. He knew he wasn't going to get a shot at a cup here in New York the way things were being run with the Islanders, so he went to a contender. If he knew he wasn't going to sign then he should have asked to be traded so that way the Isles could have gotten something for him, instead of being left holding the bag. I, myself, have never held any ill will against JT, I do wish him luck in Toronto he's a hell of a hockey player.

OK, sorry for getting off topic a bit, back to the point of this story. When Tavares left, some felt that it would set the Islanders back a few years and were going to have to try and rebuild. It's actually be the opposite effect. The Islanders are sitting tied with the Capitals for the best mark in the Atlantic division. Its been on the strength of the goaltending more than anything, but I'll save that argument for another blog post. The fact that the Isles are sitting where they are, and having done it without Tavares here, says a lot for Islanders management and the current coaching staff.

The big question is: What kind of reception is JT going to get during his return to Nassau Coliseum? Based on some of the videos that have popped up earlier today, its not going to be good. Fans are expected to boo Tavares every time he touches the puck, which isn't going to be a surprise to anybody with any knowledge of the situation. This actually isn't the first meeting between the teams this year. They met in Toronto around Christmas, a game in which the Islanders won 4-0 thanks to a Matt Barzal hat trick. As for Tavares coming back to the Island, the fans are turning on him for leaving, and doing it the way he did. He's going to get booed and he's going to get villified by some of the fan base, which is typical in the sports world. But I think Tavares deserves a little better than that for what he did for this Islanders fra

I get the fact that the fans are unhappy, believe me. But I also think the fact that the Isles are sitting where they are right now has helped ease a lot of the pain of JT departing. Fans will get their yelling at JT out of their systems as the night goes on tomorrow night. The sweetest revenge for the Isles against their former captain will be a big win on home ice and stay on track towards the playoff push.