UNIONDALE, NY -- John Tavares stepped on the ice 18 seconds into Thursday night's game at Nassau Coliseum. For the first nine years of his NHL career, this would have elicited cheers from New York Islanders fans. Except now, for the first time, Tavares was on Long Island wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, having left the Islanders for Toronto as a free agent last summer.
So the fans booed Tavares, loudly and lengthily. They chanted "JT sucks!" and "we don't need you!" along with a few more anatomical phrases. Every time he was near the puck, they jeered.