Maples Leafs center John Tavares' words are all too familiar to NY Islanders fans

Life hasn’t been all glitz and glamor for John Tavares since he left the NY Islanders for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.

Advancing past the first round of the playoffs only once in six seasons, Tavares has just two career first-round victories since being drafted first overall in 2009.

In what is being called a joint decision between the Leafs and Tavares, the captainship was removed from Tavares and given to Auston Matthews on August 14, after Tavares held the title for five seasons.

Much was made about Tavares’ future in Toronto as he heads into the final year of his contract regarding whether he’ll be traded or if the organization will look to move on from him in the off-season.

Today, as training camps kicked off around the league, Tavares made it public that he hopes to remain in Toronto.

“Obviously I want to be here,” Tavares said. “ I want to be here long term. Hopefully that happens.”

Some familiar words

Now, there are plenty of folks around Toronto who want to see Tavares gone and some who hope to see him remain with the team. 

But for Islanders fans, these words sound awfully familiar.

“I want to stay on Long Island,” Tavares said in January 2018, a few months before hitting free agency. “I haven’t thought about being anywhere except with the Islanders.”

Six months later, we learned that Tavares's words were untrue after he elected to sign a 7-year, $11M AAV deal with the Leafs.

Facing a similar situation in now in Toronto, Tavares is going to say what people want to hear, but can he truly be taken at his word?

This season will dictate how Tavares’ future pans out. If the Leafs have another season where they fail to reach expectations, Tavares may look to skip town, like he did on Long Island.