If you thought that New York Islanders fans would save a harsh welcome for John Tavares in first game back to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, you’d still be surprised to see what the Islanders had in store for the now-Maple Leafs star. After playing his first nine seasons with New York, Tavares opted to go home and sign with the Maple Leafs on a seven-year, $77 million deal. Islanders fans felt betrayed because they expected Tavares to value the opinions of a bunch of strangers over what was ultimately best for him and his career. You know, as sports fans tend to do. And when it came time for Thursday’s game, Islanders fans let Tavares hear it. From the moment he stepped on the ice, there were loud boos. Leafs hit the ice at the Coliseum. See if you can tell when John Tavares gets out there. pic.twitter.com/KypBZnzi0s — Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) February 28, 2019 And it got worse during the pregame skate (NSFW language). John Tavares hits the ice at the Coliseum and is first met with boo's, next met with a not-so-nice expletive raining down from Islanders faithful. Gonna be a good one tonight, folks.#Isles #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/bOi07jqtMc — Hockey Daily (@HockeyDaily365) February 28, 2019 Then, fans tried to throw stuff at him. Tavares nearly got hit with a jersey as he came off the ice after warmups. pic.twitter.com/fDodotJALl — Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) February 28, 2019 That included a plastic snake. John Tavares gets plastic snakes thrown at him in his return to New York pic.twitter.com/HKKHVskZ79 — Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 28, 2019 Others opted to burn jerseys that they had already purchased because that’ll show him! And the fans didn’t let up, as they chanted this while up 6-1 in third period:<doc-sep>There were several No. 91 jerseys on display Tuesday night as the Islanders took on the Flames. There were ones that said "Traitor" where Tavares should be, and at least one that said "Snake." A handful were left unaltered, though any Islanders sweater emblazoned with a ‘C’ these days is more likely to belong to Anders Lee. So yeah, you could say that fans are still pretty angry. But please, Lou Lamoriello said during a segment on WFAN’s “Joe & Evan,” reconsider booing John Tavares on Thursday in his return to NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. “He had every right to make the decision that he did to go and to go to free agency, and I respect that,” the Islanders’ president and general manager said. “Let’s put it this way: I hope it’s rethought. I hope it’s the respect he should be getting. I do understand the passion that the fans have… We’re talking about a quality human being who served his years here extremely well, and I hope that’s taken into consideration.” It might not be that easy, though. At least not according to fans at Tuesday’s game. Much of the fan base felt bamboozled after it seemed as if Tavares, much like many other NHL superstars, would re-sign with his team at the conclusion of his contract. Instead, he chose the Maple Leafs, and now must return to the barn as a hero turned villain. The animosity is further fueled because the Islanders decided not to trade Tavares before his contract expired, meaning they lost him for nothing. Then there’s the fact that Tavares signed for seven years and $77 million, which reports say was one year less than the Islanders offered. After the signing, he posted a photo of himself as a child on social media, sleeping under a Maple Leafs bedspread with the caption, “Not every day can you live a childhood dream.” It didn’t go over well. Subscribe to Newsday’s sports newsletter Receive stories, photos and videos about your favorite New York teams plus national sports news and events. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. “I don’t like that he left, the way he did it,” said Elvis Cage, a season-ticket holder from Farmingville who’ll be there Thursday. “If he gets booed, he gets booed. He kind of deserves it. “I’ll boo him when he touches the puck and I’ll cheer ‘Let’s Go Islanders’ if they play a [tribute] video for him – drown out whoever wants to cheer for him.” Fans, Cage said, have plenty to be happy about, so he does hope they can concentrate more on cheering on the first-place team in front of them than the former captain who opted to leave. Mitch Tessar and Brendan Power, friends from West Islip, had opposing views on how Tavares should be treated. Tessar, a Rangers fan clad in a Tavares jersey he borrowed from Power, said he hoped people would remember everything Tavares did for them over the years. “He made hockey big for Long Island,” said Tessar, 25. “I think they should [show him some love], but I just love hockey.” Power said the only reason that same Tavares jersey hadn’t been defaced was because he “didn’t have any duct tape.” “We wanted to write ‘trash’ on the back…Traitor is easy because [you add to] the T, and trash is easy. I want to think of something more creative.” He doesn’t have a ticket for Thursday but is looking to find one, so he can heckle Tavares. Lamoriello, though, still hopes the majority will show just a little fondness for the player who led this team for nearly a decade. “He’s a tremendous human being and gave tremendous years to the Islanders in a commitment as their captain,” he said. “I hope he gets the right reception and gets complimented by the crowd for what he did.” The other option, of course, is long and loud booing for what he did afterward.<doc-sep>
John Tavares made his long-awaited return to Long Island on Thursday night as the Maple Leafs took on the Islanders. As expected, it wasn't a particularly friendly atmosphere for the former Islanders captain at Nassau Coliseum. In his first game on the Island as a visiting player, Tavares was greeted by plenty of angry fans still bitter over his offseason departure. The once-beloved hero became Public Enemy No. 1 and fans found plenty of ways to take shots at Tavares both inside the building and out. Many of those shots came via old Tavares jerseys that were modified to push the villainous narrative. Others decided to use the old gear as fire-starters. Even some local businesses got in on the action, making it clear that JT's business was not welcome. Inside the arena, scores of angry fans were fired up and ready to unleash their wrath on Tavares' traitorous soul. Once No. 91 took the ice, some fans decided that their boos wouldn't be enough and that it'd be necessary to throw things at him as well. Old jerseys and toy snakes were among the items that came flying down from the crowd. Of course, the night wasn't completely full of hate. The Islanders gave Tavares a nice tribute video thanking him for his nine years of service during the first period. His former teammates and some fans saluted him at the conclusion of the tribute, though many other fans continued to boo through it. Things didn't exactly get better than that at any point in the night for Tavares. His line accounted for the first goal of the night but he was held off the scoresheet and the Leafs were thoroughly pummeled the rest of the way. Islanders fans had plenty to cheer for as their team ripped off six unanswered goals to take a 6-1 win at the Coliseum. Late in the game, those fans proved they were very ready to taunt Tavares. The crowd broke out some clever chants, including ones that poked fun at the now-infamous childhood picture that JT tweeted after signing with the Maple Leafs. If you need some context as to why Tavares' is the subject of such scorn on the Island, you can find that here.