Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares spent the first portion of his National Hockey League career with the New York Islanders after being selected with the 1st overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. However, it was a messy divorce with the franchise when he departed in the summer of 2018 to sign with his hometown Leafs.
The Islanders fan base (and surely some within the organization) felt betrayed by Tavares, not so much in that he exercised his right as a free-agent to sign elsewhere but that he was adamant the previous season about wanting to remain with the team as well as requesting not to be traded; New York could have unloaded him at the Trade Deadline and received assets in return for him rather than lose him for nothing on the open market.
And the scene at the Coliseum upon his return to Long Island in 2019 was akin to a war zone, with several vulgar chants and homemade signs being directed at Tavares as well as immediate and heavy booing that began the second that he stepped onto the ice for the pre-game warmup.
And as evidenced recently, there's still some bitterness on the parts of some Isles fans. While in Toronto for the Barstool Classic tournament, popular golf podcaster Frankie Borrelli had this to say prior to performing "Oh Canada":
"I'll try to do it real well here, lot of pressure, also f*** John Tavares."
As you can see, despite the Islanders having enjoyed greater playoff success than the Leafs since the departure of their former captain, there remains some lingering hard feelings!
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