Trotz wants his players to recognize that Tavares decided to no longer be their teammate



Saturday night will be a big one for John Tavares as the 28-year-old will play his first game of his career against the New York Islanders. Considering he spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career in an Islanders jersey before he decided to join the Maple Leafs so he could play for his hometown team, we’re guessing that he’s going to be met with a lot more boos than cheers, despite everything he did for the team during his time in New York.

While we’re not expecting everyone to boo the five-time NHL All-Star in his return, Islanders head coach Barry Trotz wants to make sure his players remember the moment Tavares chose the Leafs over the Islanders and is expecting them to use it as fuel to light the fire before the game.



Barry Trotz on his team getting ready for tomorrow night: “They need to have some hurt.” Also said that he wants his guys to recognize that Tavares made the decision to be their teammate no longer in the summer. #Isles — Rob Taub (@RTaub_) December 29, 2018

Fans and players can spin Tavares’ decision to join the Toronto Maple Leafs however they’d like, but it was pretty obvious that he chose to play for them because he grew up down the road from the city cheering them night in and night out and not because he had any personal problems with any current Islanders players.



Not everyday you can live a childhood dream pic.twitter.com/YUTKdfMALl — John Tavares (@91Tavares) July 1, 2018

While it’s a good tactic by Trotz, let’s also remember that he left the Washington Capitals this past offseason so he could take more money from the Islanders.

(H/T Twitter/RTaub_)