Stan Fischler & Ray Ferraro talk, Spring 1993. @MSG Networks/SportsChannel There are, in theory, 32 rinks where John Tavares could have scored his 1,000th NHL point, but in truth, the hockey gods would never pick any but one. Elmont is where the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/team-new-york-pwhl-ubs-arena-new-york-islanders-barzal-horvat-martin-nelson-lambert] live now, which means Elmont is where Tavares's hockey story lives - whether Leafs fans like it or not - even if he's never played a home game at UBS Arena. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTM1OTQ1NDU3MjE0ODEy/usatsi_20286922.jpg] So there he was on Dec. 11, recording his millennial marker, and there were the Belmont Boosters venting rudely, as they will again when Tavares returns to UBS Arena this Thursday and every time thereafter. For Islander-haters, that will mean another chance to feign astonishment at the thought of "JT" being booed on Long Island, as though unaware of any prior connection between the parties. The current voice of international anti-Islanderism is undoubtedly Paul Bissonnette, the enforcer turned podcaster and NHL on TNT studio analyst who lambasted Isles fans on social media right after Tavares's Dec. 11 milestone. "Classlessness," it seems, is largely in the eye of the beholder. Bissonnette, who broke into the industry by punching people, apparently draws the line at "boo." And that's fine. [embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C0xSJqcvGKJ[/embed] For a national broadcaster to openly take sides is exciting, and many Islander fans enjoy being the object of Bissonnette's disaffection, be it genuine or manufactured. Nobody but "Biz" and his colleagues knows for sure how much of this pearl-clutching is just for attention - the proverbial "shtick-for-click." But there's probably at least a 50-50 chance Biz actually means what he says about Islander fans and their Johnny-jeering. Many people agree with him, especially in Toronto. Even a small minority of Islander backers concur. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTM1OTQ1NDU3MjE0ODEy/usatsi_20286922.jpg] This is because the Tavares-taunting majority of Islander fans have done a poor job articulating their position. We've all heard the mantra at least a hundred times. "It's not that he left, it's how he left." Or, in the words of one of many chants to hit Tavares from his ex-admirers, "You're a liar!" In this story, the Islanders lost out on a juicy trade package because of comments Tavares made to the media about wanting to stay. Yup, platitudes. From a professional athlete. Who could even imagine?? Dumb as it may be, this is the most common complaint against Tavares. It's the one Bissonnette heard from Islander fans on his Spittin' Chiclets podcast in 2019. It is mentioned even more than the notorious bed-sheet tweet of July 1, 2018. That's the prevailing narrative; that Tavares led everybody on, and if he were just a bit more transparent, it would have been "no harm, no foul." It's not that he left. It's how he left. The problem is it's nonsense. Transparency? Really? No one was ever more transparent than Kirk Muller. The six-time All-Star said from day one of his Islander career that he wanted out. So the Isles traded him in 1996. Were fans content? No. Muller was and remains the most vilified former Islander other than John Tavares. So ask yourself, what if the Isles' captain - and face of the franchise - had timely announced his plan to skip town? Yeah, he'd likely have been traded. He'd also still get booed. Probably louder. Because, in truth, candor is not what Islander fans wanted from John Tavares in 2017-18. They wanted his signature on an eight-year extension. Tavares opted for Toronto, so Islander fans don't like him. It's not how he left. It's that he left. And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's everything that's great about sports. Sure, maybe six years of rancor and counting is a lot for your typical player, but Tavares was not the typical player. He was the "exceptional player" in juniors, the NHL first overall pick, the captain, the savior, the kid who came to the team with the worst record in the league in 2009, supposedly determined to help that team climb to the top. In most markets, that would come with a lot of pressure. But all Tavares ever got in his Islander days was a protective bubble of unconditional support. An earnest blessing to any newlywed couple is that they should be as devoted and loving to each other as Islander fans were to John Tavares. He was far from a perfect centerman, but you'd never know it from how he was treated on Long Island. The honeymoon phase lasted his entire Islander career, from the moment the team won the 2009 draft lottery until the moment he tweeted a pajama-adorned knife through their hearts. Now, if Bissonnette really believes - per his post on X - that Tavares "gave his left nut" to the organization, then Biz probably watched less than every Islander game of the 20-teens. In reality, it was the opposite. Islander fans gave their "left nut" to Tavares. No, he didn't have to return their loyalty. But he could have. He was, after all, the most-feted Islander player since the dynasty. And after nine years in the community -- a community they take pride in -- he said, "Not for me." He let ten days pass before he even said goodbye. How could they not take that personally? Isle-philes don't focus on all this, perhaps because they want to seem less emotional. So they attach something tangible - a trade - to the grievance to make it sound more pragmatic. The issue is that when you take the "You're a liar!" angle instead, you start to conflate "the Good Ol' Hockey Game" with "the Good Ol' Hockey Business," and by extension, John Tavares, the player with John Tavares, the person. These are important distinctions that Bissonnette and his ilk are rarely forced to acknowledge. Of course, John Tavares, the person, did nothing wrong. Everyone understands that. He was a free agent - keyword "free" - with no responsibility to make a decision on anybody's timetable except his own. That's how real life works, obviously. But pro sports is not real life. It's entertainment. Make believe. A magical world where you root passionately for one team over another even though you're not friends or family with any of them. It's a television show. The players are characters, and so is the crowd. John Tavares, the player, is one such character. He once had a shot at an incredible legacy - certainly compared to the legacy he's on pace for now. As of today, the most interesting thing about John Tavares, the player, is that he's the only guy anyone can think of who finished top-three in MVP voting twice for a franchise whose fanbase detests him. That's a lot more intriguing than anything going on with him up in Toronto, no matter what Paul Bissonnette says. But had he signed that extension, he could have had a one-team career like Steve Yzerman, Shane Doan, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Mario Lemieux... He could have finished what he started, or at least not quit halfway. He could have remained the "face of a franchise," his franchise, instead of playing second-line center elsewhere. He might have played in two Final Fours under Barry Trotz. Maybe with him, the Isles would have even won a Stanley Cup. What's certain is that, ultimately, he would have had a banner with his name and number hanging next to those of Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies, Billy Smith, etc. That's an honor you'd think no self-professed hockey nut would voluntarily throw in the trash. After all, don't Toronto-area natives like Paul Bissonnette and John Tavares respect and cherish the game of hockey and its history more than anyone from the U.S. ever could? It does feel like we're told that a lot. But Ontario-bred Tavares abandoned that version of hockey immortality to go play second fiddle - now fourth fiddle - to a kid from Scottsdale, Arizona. If Bissonnette can't see the farce in that, then perhaps it's he who takes this stuff too seriously, not Islander fans. Now, barring an unlikely Conn Smythe performance, Tavares probably won't have a banner - or much of a legacy - anywhere. The Islander faithful do not like him. The Maple Leafs are not his team, even if he does wear the captain's "C." In fact, much of the love he gets in Toronto comes as reaction to the venom from Islander fans. Again, of course, Tavares had the right to leave for Toronto. But was it a good idea? As a son and brother? Maybe. Sure. Probably. Why not? That's really none of our business. As a hockey player? Of course not. It was a terrible idea - in fact, worse. It was hockey blasphemy. Tavares abdicated a pretty lofty place in NHL history, and for what? To go "home." But Tavares the player isn't from Mississauga, Ontario, he's from Uniondale, Long Island. He was raised there. He grew up there. And unless he wins a Hart or Conn Smythe Trophy somewhere else, Uniondale is the place that will be associated with his NHL career forever. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTM1OTkyNDMzNDE5NjEy/usatsi_10426972.jpg] So while it's true that in real life, John Tavares's decision had nothing to do with "Joe & Jane Blow" from Long Island, it's also true that in the world of NHL Theater, John Tavares's decision had everything to do with "Joe & Jane Blow" from Long Island. And people can't understand why they boo him? What else are they supposed to do? Ignore him? Cheer him? What happens then? He would wave, they'd wave back, and that's it - story's over. It's boring. And it defeats the entire point of fanhood in the first place. Fans are as aware as anyone that sports is entertainment. So what happens on television? When Ross and Rachel or Tony and Carmela break up, do they fight and scream at each other? Do they let their ids run wild? Or do they shake hands and say, "I respect your decision." Pretty sure they scream. So Islander fans have done what they've always done in high-profile moments; they've made good TV. And that will continue Thursday night and beyond, even if they understand Tavares had every right to do what he did. John Tavares the person is a success, a class act, a "mensch" - Islander fans know this. They don't need Paul Bissonnette to tell them. But John Tavares, the player - the TV character - is an ingrate, a deserter, a tragedy, or, to borrow Bissonnette's preferred term, a "clown show." Biz can claim JT "gave his left nut to the organization" all he wants, and it won't change anyone's opinion. Because Islander fans know that in reality, the only word in there that's accurate - or matters - is "left."
