What if John Tavares never left the Islanders?

Imagine an alternate universe in which John Tavares never signs with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2018 – a universe in which he remains captain of the New York Islanders and becomes a foundational piece of a promising organization.

Imagine that Tavares stays on Long Island and plays alongside a blossoming Mathew Barzal, a skilled, young centerman who has the opportunity to develop (and win) under Tavares' leadership. And imagine further that the Islanders still win the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and select dynamic, right-shot defenseman Matthew Schaefer at No. 1 overall to be their next franchise cornerstone.

What would this version of the Islanders look like?

What if John Tavares never left the New York Islanders?

If Tavares had stayed, the Islanders probably wouldn't have handed the keys over to Barzal as quickly as they did – and that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Instead of being thrust into the No. 1 center role at just 21 years old, Barzal would play behind Tavares, giving him the chance to develop in a more controlled (albeit more sheltered) role and focus purely on offense.

By the early 2020s, the Islanders may have had one of the NHL’s best center tandems. Whether playing on separate lines or even on the same power play unit, Tavares and Barzal would have been a nightmare to defend. It may have even altered the direction of the team itself, giving then-head coach Barry Trotz a pair of elite offensive talents to work with instead of morphing the Islanders into a gritty, defense-first machine.

If Tavares had stayed, perhaps Long Island would have been a more attractive destination for high-end free agents in the late 2010s and early 2020s – the likes of Artemi Panarin and Johnny Gaudreau. The identity of the Islanders may have shifted altogether, from grinding playoff spoilers to a more dynamic, perennial contender rife with legitimate star power.

Then comes Schaefer, the smooth-skating, two-way defenseman projected to anchor the Islanders' top pair for the foreseeable future. Maybe Noah Dobson would have stayed, and the Islanders suddenly would have had a young, high-end defensive core to complement their elite forward group. They would no longer be the gritty underdogs; rather, they would be a legitimate force with star power, a structure and a future.

Tavares’ departure was undoubtedly a turning point in Islanders history. Had it never happened, today's Islanders team could look extremely different, both now and in the future.