TORONTO - (AP) -- John Tavares answered three questions about a resounding Toronto Maple Leafs victory before the attention turned to what was on everyone's mind: the star center's return to New York.
Tavares spent nine seasons with the Islanders, including six as the team's captain, before leaving as a free agent for the team he rooted for while growing up in the suburbs west of Toronto.
"I fully embraced being an Islander," said Tavares, who had a goal and an assist in the Maple Leafs' 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. "I loved it and I gave it everything I had.