I know it’s a long shot that Tavares leaves the Islanders. And I know that Lou has a great historical reputation. But I think Tavares will be disappointed by staying. Lou is 75 and has lost a bit of his magical touch from the golden age of his career. He didn’t do much in Toronto imo. Anyone would’ve taken Matthews #1 in his draft. Trotz is a solid coach. And Barzel seems to be a stud. After that, they have no goalie, they might lose their best defenseman in FA. They don’t have a perminant home. And they haven’t made the playoffs recently.
They had a solid draft but I don’t see that helping them this season. It’s different than Stamkos in that there was a solid foundation in Tampa and they were and still are a major contender. They are complete opposite situations. I really hope that Tavares is open to what the Sharks present are truly considers what his feature could look like surrounded by a stable operation and a solid core.
100% this
Without sounding obnoxious, how could anyone want to stay with the Islanders? I understand loyalty and not wanting to move and being part of the solution and winning with one team etc, but the Islanders have been a model of a failing franchise for years. There are never articles or stories about how great it is to play for them, but rather their arena is a laughing stock, their old GM was garbage, they dont attract any good players via FA, their trades and signings have been terrible, they dont make the playoffs.... I could go on.
Every person/player is very different on how they approach life and employment, but if it were me, i'd be counting the days until i was out the door of that franchise.
