July 1st was a bad day.
I don’t think that needs to be rehashed in detail. For Islanders fans my age, who were too young to remember Ziggy Palffy, let alone Pierre Turgeon, Pat Lafontaine, or the dynasty Islanders, Tavares was the New York Islanders. He was hardworking and humble, kind and gracious, and never went out of his way to grab the spotlight. He had faults in his game, but he was the face of the franchise, and scored two decisive goals to clinch the team’s first playoff victory since 1993.
That’s what makes his decision to leave so shocking.