Tavares on the hostile reception he received on Long Island: 'I expected it was coming'

John Tavares gives his thoughts on the hostile reception he received in his return to Long Island, and describes the emotions that were going through his mind during his video tribute.

[dannydangles]

Anyone else hear that guy scream “John u suck” at 0:15

[jameskostas]

did anyone else hear the guy yell “John you suck!”

[justaguy]

Shout out to the guy at 0:16 yelling “John you suck” you feel like they would edit that out

[rocktommason]

I feel really bad for him. It sucks making 11 million a year and having to be booed at. I hope he's ok.

[nathanbrill]

I’m surprised his back isn’t messed up for carrying the Islanders for 9 years

[CrImSoN]

He said "obviously" 11 times in 2 and a half minutes.

[ajcics]

The organization did the right thing by giving him a tribute....and the fans did the right thing by booing the living sh*t out of him

[prodet]

I don’t think he deserved the hate considering he was there for 9 years and got nothing in return. Even though the isles are doing great of this year I think his decision was clear cut considering its his home town.

Edit: thank you for all the likes :)

[ryana]

The fact he walked away after being the face of the team for a decade and the team that drafted him got nothing in return is why the fans hate him. Had he been traded before the deadline last year the fans would love him. This is exactly why the Senators traded their 3 top scorers this trade deadline. And look how the fans in Ottawa have shown respect for the leaving players. Look at how Simmonds is loved and missed in Philly after he was traded. You have to get something because a player could walk away leaving you with nothing. Tavares had every right to choose to move on but the fans have every right to hate him for it. In my opinion Tavares deserves the hate from the Isles fans. He walked away.


Queue all the Leafs fans telling me I'm wrong. 3, 2 There ya go.

[spektzz]

I like how Islander fans start chanting dumb stuff but like sorry you couldnt build a half decent team around him. The dude carried u guys for those 9 years.

[patrickduryea]

I’m an Islanders fan he knows exactly what happened he knew our fans he knew what was gonna happen and he knows a lot of Isles fans still love him and he showed great character skating out on the ice even with all the fans booing him and this will all be over when he will hopefully get his number up in the rafters at the new arena

[barry]

Shoutout to Islanders fans for the amazing entertainment tonight 👌

[itsjustfantasy]

He still saying nice things about the fans after all that, he's such a nice person
( Thanks for all the likes) lol it was at night when my phone went crazy but I still read every reply 😊
Follow me on instagram @it's_hajj.12
Worth a try

[Ethan-wxhk]

As a leafs fan i can understand both sides. The only “classless” thing going on here is everyone being hypocritical. Obliviously JT could have handled the situation differently, but ultimately it was his choice to do what ever the hell he wanted. Stop going at each other’s throats it’s not like it’s going to change anything.

[cardopening]

The dude saying john you suck in the back😂

[AznPridexX]

I feel for Tavares. He did all he could for this franchise and this isn’t what he deserves. If a player is destined to stay with the team that drafted them for their whole career, whats the point of free agency? He had every right to leave and his decision is his own. Classless fans

[barry]

Leafs fans complaining about Isles fans having no class...yet they boo their own players on home ice 🤣🤣

[arkantos]

He should have told them earlier that he had clear intentions of leaving

[lukehanna]

At least isles fans don't boo their own players... *cough cough... leafs fans*

[kevinkimmer]

Isles pretty much muled Tavares for 9 good years on probably one of the the worst contracts in the history. (JT shoulda fired his agent who got him that contract)


Instead of thanking the one guy who kept that franchise relevant, they decide to act with absolutely no class.
Shame on them.