Scott Malkin takes the hit for the franchise’s latest debacle. For it was the principal owner who allowed John Tavares to hold the Islanders hostage throughout a season in which No. 91 refused to commit to an extension even while the clock mercilessly ticked off the final year of his contract.
Whether a representation of ownership naivete, arrogance or foolhardiness, the organization got suckered after Malkin forbade then-general manager Garth Snow to shop Tavares as a trade-deadline rental following months in which the captain and his agent whispered sweet words of nothing into the owner’s ears.