He left his Islanders days behind on July 1, making his reasoning crystal clear in a tweet that featured a photo of himself as an Ontario kid sleeping soundly between his Toronto Maple Leafs sheet and blanket with this caption overhead: “Not everyday you can live a childhood dream.”
So there was John Tavares playing for his childhood dream team Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, skating against the Rangers. He had a pointless game in Toronto’s 4-1 loss.
Tavares will have a more significant return to New York on Feb. 28. That’s when he will face his old team at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum in front of the fans he left behind after nine seasons.