There could be personal reasons, if we r just stating possibilities. He wouldnt have to move to a new house. What if he wanted to raise a fam on Long Island? Also, he knows the organization well and chemistry and all that. This is more than just a business, bro.

Because he wants to see it through. If he left now, it would haunt him for his entire career.

If he doesn't leave now, couldn't that haunt him for the rest of his career too?

You bring up a good point, but if he signs for 8 years right now, that’ll take him until he’s 34. he’ll certainly have enough in him to go out and join whatever powerhouse exists

I would argue that the NYI have been improving by Snow fleecing Chiarelli. Eberle and Barzal gave you guys another good scoring line. Shore up the defence a bit and Isle have a sold team, no? And ss long as Chiarelli has a job NYI and NJD are laughing.

Agree with you Nick. Though just about any team that has cap will have "performance" issues for a few years. I think he stays an Islander, with Rangers and Jersey in contention.

I'm not so sure about that. STL is a good fit, they'd definitely have a much better team next season. Can't forget how sick Vegas looks now. They get rid of deadweight, sign JT and Carlson? Look out.

Certainly if he wants to move West, you're right Vegas and St Louis are top contenders. Just wonder for family reasons he wants to leave NY. As an observer I wonder if Tavares is going to great value in a few years. Maybe there are better ways to spend your $$$$.

Because ownership offers him an option for minority ownership and a front office job/ significant role when his hockey career is over.

Big deal. One of the best players of the game, he can get that anywhere. Martin Brodeur works for STL.

-Offense was top tier this year, with a few other offensive prospects coming in soon. If he stays, he could be part of one of the league's best offenses for the rest of his career.
-He's coming off two years of great chemistry on a line with Josh Bailey and Anders Lee, both of whom are set to break personal bests this year.
-Having the arena set to be built in 2020 is a boon, not something to detract from. It's a sign that things are getting done on the franchise level. If the owners fire Snow/Weight this offseason and replace him with someone like Lombardi/Sutter, that could further impress Tavares.
-While the defense was garbage this year, it did give a lot of very young names good ice time. Pulock, Aho, Mayfield and Pelech are all very young, have long been projected to be NHL-quality defensemen and have all shown good progress this year.
-By the end of this season, fellow Islander Mathew Barzal should boast the Calder Trophy, as he leads the rookie points race by about 10. Pretty much every Stanley Cup champion this decade has boasted an elite forward duo (Kane/Toews, Crosby/Malkin, Datsyuk/Zetterberg, Krejci/Bergeron), and while Tavares COULD find the second half of that duo somewhere else, Tavares is practically guaranteed to find him in NYI, if not Barzal then one of Lee, Bailey or Eberle, all of whom put up outstanding numbers this year.

In short, the Islanders are set to have an outstanding offense. While their defense was very bad this year, their defense is also very young and still has plenty of time to improve.

I'm not saying Tavares will stay. Personally, I think it's a 60% chance that he does. But there ARE reasons, multiple reasons, Tavares would want to stay with the team that drafted him.