Toronto Maple Leafs: Tavares responds to Lamoriello’s comments
By Paul Taylor
John Tavares was asked on Saturday about comments made by former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello, regarding the star centre’s time with the New York Islanders.
During last week, former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello made some interesting comments regarding John Tavares‘ tenure in New York with the Islanders. As reported by Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, Lamoriello said:
"“There’s no aftermath. Players come and go. It’s different if they had won championships. It’s different if they had had a lot of success. They haven’t done much – and I don’t say that with any disrespect. Haven’t been to the playoffs the last couple years. Things haven’t worked out the way everybody would have liked them to, from what my understanding is.”"
Unsurprisingly, you knew the media was going to ask Tavares for his take on Lamoriello’s comments. And that opportunity presented itself on Saturday.
In fairness to him, the five-time NHL All-Star accepted the part he played in the Islander’s lack of success during his nine seasons with the team. As reported by TSN, he said:
"“In the nine years (I was there) we made the playoffs three times and got past the first round once, so we obviously fell short of where we wanted to get to and we didn’t have as much consistent success as we (would have liked)…Being the captain there as long as I was, I should shoulder a lot of that responsibility in not doing a good enough job and leading that team.”"
However, this doesn’t mean Tavares was willing to accept all the blame, and with good reason. After all, last time we checked, hockey is a team game.
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In that respect, the 2009 first overall draft pick was fantastic during his time in New York. In 669 regular season games, he scored 272 goals and added 349 assists, to give him a total of 621 points.
And on those rare occasions when the Islanders did actually make the playoffs, Tavares again more than held his own. He made 24 playoff appearances in total, scoring 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points.
While remaining measured in his response to Lamoriello’s comments, the star centre made the point of adding that he always gave 100 percent on the ice. Again reported by TSN, he said:
"“I wish I could have done a better job, but I know I gave it everything I had, and looking back, I have no regrets in the way I performed … I just obviously wish we’d had more success and done a better job.”"
There was a lot of pressure on Tavares when he was in New York, but he lived up to the expectations, even if the team failed to win consistently. After signing his seven-year, $77 million deal with the Leafs, the pressure will be there again.
However, the Mississauga, Ontario native is in his prime at 27, and is coming off a season where he scored the second-most points of his NHL career. And he figures to make the playoffs on a more regular basis in Toronto, given the talent surrounding him on the roster.
What was your take on Lamoriello’s comments regarding Tavares tenure with the Islanders? Does it even matter? More importantly, what kind of production are you predicting for Tavares this coming season with the Toronto Maple Leafs? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.