Hitting 1,000 Points in the National Hockey League is quite an accomplishment. To date, only 98 men in the history of the game have done that. The 98th person to join that list is Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares, who joined that list last night on Long Island with a two point performances.
Fitting that it happened to come against the team he started his NHL career with.
For the first nine years in the NHL, Tavares played for the New York Islanders, the team that took him with the first overall pick in the 2009 draft. He played 669 games in an Islanders sweater, collecting 621 points. He then moved on to the Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2018 and has collected 379 points in 385 games and counting. When Tavares got the milestone point, which was an assist on Morgan Riley's tying goal in the final seconds of regulation, the Leafs poured off the bench to congratulate their captain. The Islanders also show a small video tribute/message for Tavares on the big board, which was met with boos from Islanders fans, but more on that shortly.
While he's never been the quickest skater, Tavares has shown an ability to get where he has to and with good agility. He's got great hands and vision and does make the guys that play around him better. He made the Islanders a more respectable franchise during the nine years he was there before heading off to Toronto. While in Canada his production has still been there. The biggest knock against Tavares is that, while wearing the C on his chest, he hasn't been able to really lead a team out of the second round of the playoffs. That still doesn't take away from the credit he deserves for hitting the 1,000 point milestone which is a major accomplishment in this league.
Now then, to address what happened at UBS Arena after Tavares hit his 1,000th point. He still is getting booed six years after he left Long Island.
Look I get it, I do. I know most of my fellow Islanders fans are STILL unhappy with the guy for not only leaving, but the way he left. Listen to me what happened with Tavares isn't even close to what Dale Hunter and Darcy Tucker did. If your an Islander fan you know what I'm talking about. If not, those two guys are know for injuring two Isles players during heated playoff series and have been hated by fans to this day. What Tavares did isn't even the same thing as what Kirk Muller did. Again if you know you know.
It wasn't Tavares call not to trade him before he left, that came from ownership and upper management. That's why he walked and we got nothing back in return. I don't blame Tavares for leaving the guy did what he had to do and did what he felt was right for him and his career. He didn't hurt the franchise, ownership did at that time. This is just me talking but I've never had ill will against the guy. The only ones I have are the ones that I listed above and for those reason. But Tavares leaving for Toronto, I've never booed the guy. Why? Because its childish and a stupid thing to do for a guy who gave everything he had to the team and the game.
Congratulations to John Tavares on reaching 1,000 career points!
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