Ask any NY Islanders fan why they boo John Tavares at every chance and you'll get the same response 99 times out of 100. Fans hate John Tavares the way that they hate Dale Hunter, Darcy Tucker or Ulf Samuelsson. The big difference?
Tavares played for the Isles and entered UFA season by stringing along the Islanders and their fans. After nine seasons that saw the Isles turn the corner by actually winning a playoff series, he inked a seven-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The fanbase felt so betrayed that still to this day, every time JT touches the puck within ear-shot of an Isles fan, they let him know exactly how they feel. That was a different era for this team with a different general manager.
The keys were handed to captain Anders Lee, but lately it has been more the Brock Nelson show. Nelson is a stoic competitor, who plays well in all three zones and is by far the biggest scoring threat the Isles have. The problem? Nelson, 33, is a UFA come season's end and that has Islander fans pulling out their hair in bunches. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has a reputation spanning his NHL career for keeping his cards very close to the vest. He's shone that recently by making a few moves that came as a surprise to many around the league, as well as the fans themselves.
The claiming of Florida Panthers defenseman Adam Boqvist off waivers, the trade for blueliner Scott Perunovich from St. Louis for a draft pick and signing NHL castaway Tony DeAngelo from the Russian KHL were shrewd moves by the GM. These acquisitions were made with about a month to go before the zero hour, 3:00pm on March 7th, and still no news on the Nelson contract extension.
