It’s been three weeks since John Tavares bid the Islanders farewell. It’s been about the same amount of time since the bulk of the league’s observers wrote off the 2018-19 Islanders.



“I’ve already seen some people pegging us as being in the bottom. That’s just a slap in the face when I see it,” Johnny Boychuk told The Athletic. “Our team is really good. I think we’re going to show them we are a good team.”



Boychuk is among the veteran Islanders who will need to fill the leadership void left by Tavares’ departure — in addition to being their star player, Tavares was the Isles’ captain the last five seasons, the longest-serving captain since Pat Flatley (1991-96).



That means it falls to Boychuk and his fellow veterans to welcome in the new Islanders and to initiate group texts during the summer among the players. Tavares had been the point man between the front office and coaching...