National Post (National Edition)
TAVARES IN THE EYE OF A LONG ISLAND STORM
NLance hornby ear the garbage bins where some fans set their old John Tavares sweaters ablaze in the parking lot, the object of an Island’s scorn gave a coolheaded press conference in his Toronto Maple Leafs hat.
“I don’t expect it to be very welcoming,” Tavares told about 50 media in basement of old Nassau Coliseum. The nine-year-islander didn’t need to see pre-game tailgaters with ‘Traitor” now across the back of their 91 jerseys, or ‘ We Don’t Need You,’ as one woman Sharpied over some masking tape.
“I’m just going to go out there and worry about what I can control. A lot of emotions go through you. I tried to be open and honest about my decision.”
Isles supporters will challenge him on that last point, the true bone of contention in his departure. They understood the lure of home, the Leafs and a US$77 million contract, but they believed he was giving more serious consideration to staying. In the end, they lost him for nothing when a 2018 deadline trade might have eased the departure.
Others say he deserved the planned tribute video for staying with the team as long as he did, with its long history of internal strife and questionable trades.
Both new Isles coach Barry Trotz and his current boss in Toronto, Mike Babcock, pointed out how they, too, left good organizations for financial reward.
“It’s all part of life: at times you have to make decisions,” Babcock said of leaving Detroit after a decade. “He’s not a kid. He made a decision for his family and himself, not based on what the rest of the world thinks.
“In some ways, when you get fired or you get traded, when you go back, (fans) they’re fine with you. You leave on your own, sometimes there can be hard feelings. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but that’s just the reality of the situation. People come up to me and say ‘ I’m a Red Wings fan’. Well, I am, too. John’s an Islander fan and will be for life.”
Babcock chatted with Tavares on Thursday morning to make sure he was not jittery about the game or whatever he heard or saw from the crowd.
“The game is played between the boards. I’ ll put my skates on like I do every game,” said Tavares. “It was nine years I’ll never forget. I embraced being an Islander. When I was here I loved it and I gave it everything I had. I had some good moments here, first goal, playoff games. I still say it, I took a lot of pride playing here, being an Islander, being a captain, helping this team get where they wanted to go. Unfortunately we didn’t. (Leaving) was the hardest decision of my life.”
DERMOTT OUT FOUR WEEKS
The Leafs lineup, specifically defence, is in a state of flux. Jake Gardiner’s ‘weekto-week’ absence with a back injury was just sinking in Wednesday night when Travis Dermott suffered a shoulder injury during the win over Edmonton and will be lost for four weeks, the team announced late Thursday.
Dermott was completing his first full season, a homegrown prospect who was making great strides on ice. He had 17 points in 60 games and was averaging 17 minutes a game.
Martin Marincin was called up from the AHL Marlies late Wednesday to play with Justin Holl on the third pairing as Babcock didn’t want to use Igor Ozhiganov in a back-to-back situation after he took Gardiner’s spot Wednesday after a long layoff.
Marincin was summoned to the airport hastily on Wednesday night to replace Dermott against the Isles, with no time to get his equipment bag and sticks from Coca-cola Coliseum. So the team asked Leafs Network Nation host Paul Hendrick to help out. Marincin’s gear was dropped at Hendrick’s home close to CCC and the latter brought it on his commercial flight early Thursday morning to New York.
“I tried to get it carryon,” joked Hendrick, “but it wouldn’t fit in the overhead bin. I will say it was heavy to drag around.”
IN JOHN’S CORNER
Matt Martin was there at the beginning with Tavares and can see both sides of the Island’s split on No. 91’s legacy.
“We all kind of came up together, John and a lot of guys in this room,” Martin said at the morning skate. “There were some dark days and when he was drafted (first overall in 2009), he was kind of the next big thing. He poured his heart into this organization for nine years.
“(Fans) kind of watched him grow, watched him become a star and so that wasn’t easy to watch him leave. I expect — and I’m sure he expects — they’ll be hard on him. Inside of hockey, that’s all great; the fans, the booing, that’s all fine. Some of the other stuff is ... whatever.”
Martin was referring to how the hard-core supporters, those fiercely proud of the underdog label since their team’s inception, went after Tavares hard on social media, videos and in any number of imaginative protests leading to puck drop.
“I’d imagine he’s been booed before,” Martin said. “We want our crowd to be hard on opposing teams. They do a pretty good job. But he’s one of the best players in the world for a reason, he’s been through all different types of adversity.”
Martin laughed when asked if this game, which everyone here has waited for since July 1 when Tavares tweeted a picture of his younger self in Leaf-themed bed linen, would bring closure.
“I’m pretty closed with it. Everyone else, they’ ll find closure when they find closure. Everyone can feel the way they want about it. It was a decision he made completely within his rights (as a UFA). I know for certain he loved it here and cared about this team and trying to win. It didn’t happen and he found himself a new situation.
“He’s happy in Toronto, we’re happy where we are in the standings. We’ve moved on from him, he’s moved on from us. A lot of people counted us out, said we’d be a last-place team and whatnot. We felt like we’re a good team and proved that to this point.”
ALONE ON AN ISLAND
Leo Komarov doesn’ t mind playing under the radar a bit here.
“The Island is big (for hockey), but not as big as Toronto,” the former Leaf winger said before the game. “I actually appreciate it. Everything that happens (in Leaf Nation) is under a microscope. You play in Toronto, you don’t see it as much, but you go somewhere else ... that’s probably the biggest difference.
“I still follow some Leaf guys on Twitter, still have a lot of friends on that team. Nazem Kadri is my best friend over there, I talk to (fellow Finn Kasperi) Kapanen a bit. I wish them the best, but I don’t really follow (the rest of the NHL) that much anymore. I used to watch a lot, but now I have a kid (son Linus will be two in April) and I have to put him to bed. It’s too much.”
LOOSE LEAFS
Playing at Nassau, now known as NYCB, added to the surreal day for Tavares. “It’s hard to believe we’re back here, for a game that has a lot of meaning. The setup is a little different, but it’s still a special building” ... If they make the playoffs, the Isles will play the first round here and subsequent series at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, when they would presumably fill more seats by them ... Marincin’s equipment issue reminded Hendrick of a Leaf trip to Long Island many years ago when Owen Nolan was on the team. Nolan mentioned to Hendrick and colour analyst Harry Neale his frustration at a scoring slump. Remembering he had a small bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey in his luggage, Neale opened it and poured a couple of drops over Nolan’s stick blades, promising it would help. “When Owen scored that night, he made sure to look up at the Nassau press box to wave at Harry,” Hendrick said. nationalpost.com