John Tavares wants Islanders fans to know he’s sorry.
“I want to apologize, from the bottom of my heart, for things not working out — and for the fact that, under my captaincy, we fell short of our ultimate goal,” Tavares wrote in a 4,000-plus word first-person article posted on The Players’ Tribune on Wednesday afternoon. “But I gave it all that I had . . . and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for how you gave me all that you had in return.”
Tavares describes an agonizing process of trying to decide whether to re-sign with the Islanders, who selected him first overall in 2009, or leave as an unrestricted free agent to join his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.