I hope Tavares never sees the cup and Bailey shoves it right in his face.

He took that contract at a discount so Tavares would stay and he betrayed him and the whole organization with how poorly he handled the situation.

Tryna figure out who your team is...I was guessing PHI until I saw Henrik in there..and I don't think any PHI fan would ever say that..

Lol.

Philly fan but I respect Henrik as a competitor.

LOL come on man...

The guy gave 9 years of his career, and the Islanders made the playoffs ONCE in that time! They play their home games in a basketball arena for God's sake...and there's no clear solution to that in sight. Having no idea where the team is going to play it's home games isn't a problem to you? If your honest, the Islanders have been run horribly for the last 15 years, do you accuse them of betraying their players? Lou Lamarillo showing up for a week doesn't make all of that go away!

I know it hurts as a fan to see such a great player get away but he exercised his contractually given right to leave, kudos to him for having the balls to do what (to everyone on the outside) looks like the smart move. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the organization for letting him walk and getting NOTHING in return. The team would be just fine had they hauled in a proper kings ransom for having moved him, they'd be sitting pretty right now. That's the real crime, fans should be furious with the team!

I salute you, true sports fan! lol

I completely agree with the fact that the organization was pathetic but he kept saying he wanted to bring the cup to Long Island they went out and got lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz and JT left. It’s not that he left it’s that he said the whole time he was going to stay and said don’t trade me. Also he should’ve let the islanders know earlier and not leave them in the dark as he has spent nine years on the island

I go back to the year the Islanders let Okposo and Neilson leave, that for me was a turning point that was talked about at length in the media. That was the off season that the Islanders should have resigned him. The onus was on the Islanders to talk with JT well in advance of his final year and sign a contract. Instead of giving him assurances, they gave him doubts. You just can't afford to take a gamble like that.

Tavares said the same kind of stuff that Karlsson is saying now:

"I think I've always showed my commitment, my appreciation and my desire to play on Long Island," Tavares told Sportsnet 590. "I would love for that to continue for the long haul. I think you look at some of the greatest players in the game have been able to spend their entire career somewhere. I hope I'm in that same position."

“I love this city, I love this community, I love everything about it,” Karlsson said. “I’ve been here for a long time. I’ve made Ottawa my home and it’s always going to be my home. When that time comes, I hope there’s a place for me in the future and this team is going in the direction that I would like for us to have a chance in the near future.”

What are the chances Karlsson isn't traded??

Again, it just points to how badly the Islanders are run, he should have either been signed or traded. The fact that they waited so long was a blunder on them, not the player.

Please don't take this so much as I am digging at Islander fans. Believe me, the Rangers do some sh#t that makes me question why I watch the games!!

I am talking more about how badly some of the local teams are run (the Mets, Jets, Islanders, Rangers, Knicks..on and on), and that as a fan who pays a premium to watch games on tv, go see games in person..etc etc, it's tiring and unacceptable in the NY area. Thank God for the Yankees! lol

That's awesome.

Not only do I agree with your assessment of the NYI/Tavares situation, but I would also like to add this: even if these people want to blame him for "leading them on" or whatever, who gives a crap? Clearly, it's the organizations fault, but if you wanna play that card I STILL AGREE with JT (not just cos I'm a Leafs fan)...players are under team control as an RFA for so freaking long anymore that they should be able to do whatever the hell they want if they get to UFA. They suffer through so many years of team control and if they make a trade request, they are viewed as a baby with an attitude. These are grown ass men in their mid 20's who are under team control... UFA status should start earlier, IMO. So I don't fault any guy who has stuck around that long and finally hits UFA and says "you know what, I'm gone"..no matter who that may be, no matter if this comment ends up being a Leafs player years down the road, whatever, I'll still believe it.

I think your going to see that be a big topic when the next bargaining agreement is due. This system they have in place now just doesn't work correctly. You see a lot of players get overpaid when they hit UFA simply because high caliber players rarely reach free agency. Sure, some people might think this is good, but for the average fan it's a little boring. The Tavares situation is a rarity, teams usually just overpay their player and hold onto them. On the flip side, you get the lesser players who could arguably be worth more on the open market having to accept whatever they are offered by their respective teams because of their forever and a day RFA status. Think about that whole 10 games = 1 year deal. Is 10 games really enough to gauge a player? Unless their super elite, teams always send the prospect back down and pocket the year. It robs the fans of getting to see the prospects, it robs the players of a contract year in their youth and takes away a potential marque name from the FA list while in their prime.

I think shortening the RFA window is both fair to today's players, and would spice things up a little for the league. I also think that 10 game limit should get bumped to like 30 games. If the player settles in and starts making an impact, what are the chances the team demotes them? Fans would be furious!

I agree & I've said before I think the RFA window is gonna be huge. It would create more parity which Bettman wants. It would make things more exciting. Shorten the RFA period by 2 or 3 years and this league becomes even more interesting and requires smarter hockey minds and trades to run teams. The cap is a thing, but bigger hockey markets essentially can employ the best hockey minds to run the team and it creates more trades and excitement in the offseason or deadline, without overpaying the cap in some situations. It creates more parity. & again as a Leafs fan, if Matthews or Willy or Marner hit UFA x years, fine, but at least they wouldn't be chained down for so many years and the team would get a haul for them. I def think the NHLPA pushes for shorter RFA periods. It works on both sides. I think everyone would benefit from this.