New York Islanders John Tavares Staying or Going Confidence Meter

Kate Eliou

With Snow and Weight gone and what seems to be more positive change on the horizon, it’s hard to imagine that Tavares is favoring free agency. Throughout this whole process, the conversation about JT leaving has been centered around which he values more, familiarity or a team that can compete. With these moves, I think he gets both.

It’s been argued that removing Garth and Doug would make Tavares more inclined to leave because it would mean purging the organization of some very familiar faces. However, I think the comfort of staying in the same home with the same core of teammates within the same club is familiarity.

By firing the general manager and head coach, Lamoriello is proving to JT that the team is making drastic improvements while still being the same New York Islanders he’s come to know. He would get the best of both worlds.

With all of this being said, my confidence in Tavares re-signing with the Islanders is at about 60%. While everything looks to be falling into place from the outside, the captain has remained extremely quiet on his own position on things. Throughout the year, he’s reassured us that New York is where he wants to be but has gone silent since the end of the season.

I have faith in Lou and his frequent meetings with Tavares’ team but I still have to leave a wide margin of error. 40% of me is still bracing for heartbreak. This is the New York Islanders after all.