LOS ANGELES — Here is the reality that might be lost back in New York, where Islanders captain John Tavares goes about his business in relative anonymity:
In the spotlight leading up to the NHL All-Star Game, which went down at Staples Center on Sunday afternoon, Tavares was inundated with questions about his future. The media from Toronto asked him about the possibility of signing with his hometown Maple Leafs, and the national media pestered him about the conditions of life at Barclays Center, a franchise that just fired its coach, Jack Capuano, and one that has some uncertainty in its front office with new majority owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin having just taken over.