Toronto Maple Leafs: Cheer For Whoever You Want to Cheer For

John Tavares is a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Remember when declaring that used to be fun?

Pointing to Tavares’ current employer was, as the kids say, the hottest meme on the interwebs for a good little while there and even emerged to become somewhat of a rallying cry within the Leafs’ fanbase – perhaps the one thing capable of bringing all corners together.

It’s funny how things can change, isn’t it? All it took was a putrid team effort in his homecoming on Wednesday, some plastic snakes, a nationwide-trending hashtag, and a standing ovation the following Saturday night to thrust the act of supporting Tavares into controversy.

Here’s the thing; not every hill is worth dying on. Especially this one.

As he prepared to face the New York Islanders on their home ice for the first time since signing with the Maple Leafs on July 1st in unprecedented fashion, the vitriolic atmosphere which greeted Tavares on Wednesday night was one that has never been seen before in modern hockey.

Sure, players have received a few less-than-inviting welcomes from their former team’s fans over the years, but nothing like this. What Islanders fan threw at Tavares – and I mean literally threw at him – reached an entirely new level.

Booing is obviously expected in these circumstances. Heck, it’s even encouraged.

The Islanders drafted Tavares, made him their captain.

Islanders’ fans shouldn’t be held responsible for how poorly their team was managed throughout Tavares’ entire near decade-spanning tenure on Long Island. Nor should they be faulted for how repeatedly incapable Islanders’ management proved to be at surrounding Tavares with actual talent, despite having their franchise pillar locked in at arguably the NHL’s most team-friendly cap hit at the time, either.

Tavares meant everything to the Islanders’ fanbase. He was their sliver of light; ever-shining amidst an era shrouded entirely in darkness. And when the time came for him to re-affirm his commitment once again and lead them into a new era, Tavares did what no player of his calibre had ever done before and declined.

Unprecedented actions are typically met with unprecedented responses.

That mantra isn’t meant to excuse Islanders’ fans for attempting to pelt their former captain with plastic snakes and jerseys during warmups. And it doesn’t excuse them for consciously ignoring the full decade of ineptitude thrust upon them by the organization – in both a hockey and a business aspect – and instead using the one player who gave them anything to cheer for as the outlet for their rage, either.

It may explain why those actions were taken, but it certainly doesn’t make them warranted.

For all the talk regarding loyalty and passion coming from the Islanders’ corner this week, it’s important to remember that those monikers are, in fact, a two-way street.

Tavares gave everything he had to the New York Islanders organization, lasting from the moment they drafted him as a teenager to the moment he walked out their door as a grown man.

In his 9 years of service, Tavares represented the Islanders in 5 All-Star Games. He earned a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team in his first season wearing Islanders’ colours and, in 2014-15, was the first Islander to be named to the First NHL All-Star Team in almost 30 years, finishing as a finalist for the Hart Trophy that season, as well.

As Tavares approached free agency for the first time in 2011, not only did he re-up with the Islanders a year earlier than his expiring ELC required him to, but the 6-year, $33 million extension he signed prior to puck drop of the 2011-12 regular season, as to avoid any distractions, saw him leave money on the table in an effort to help his team assemble a contender in a hard-capped league.

They never did.

When the Tavares-Era Islanders won their first (and only) playoff round in 2016 against the Florida Panthers, who scored the double-overtime winner in game-six to make it happen? Tavares did. That game, funnily enough, looked like it wouldn’t even make it to overtime as the Islanders trailed Florida 1-0 in the third period. Guess who scored the tying goal? That would be Tavares.

So, when fans heap blame on him for failing to lead the Islanders past the second round, they do so while seemingly ignoring that Tavares, in fact, has 22 points in 24 career postseason games.

Maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t the problem. But after 9 years of unrelenting commitment, and 9 years of giving his all to a team that consistently refused to return the favour, Tavares came home. And the fans crucified him for it.

No matter who you are, no matter how much money you make, what happened on Wednesday night was jarring enough to leave a mark on anyone.

It clearly left one on Tavares.

Why, then, is showing support for Tavares such an unthinkable act amongst Leaf fans? Does his decision to buck convention and sign back home in Toronto not earn him a modicum of support, especially given how the unrelenting nonsense Tavares has been subjected to since comes directly as a result?

There’s no galaxy brain take here.

Tavares is a good person – someone who is consistently involved in a number of charitable endeavours off the ice while currently being on pace to become the first Maple Leaf to crack the 50-goal barrier since Dave Andreychuk did so in 1993 on it.

Tavares didn’t need a standing ovation from the home crowd on Saturday night. He’s typically so dialled in on the task at hand that, frankly, I’m shocked he even noticed it. Not once did Tavares ask for any type of response, either.

Scotiabank Arena didn’t serenade him because his feelings were hurt. They did so because, after his own teammates failed to show up for him on Wednesday, fans were determined not to let Tavares down as well.

Some things just don’t have a negative angle. This is one of those things.

Was the hashtag necessary? Probably not. But the sentiment behind it – “you made the right decision in coming here and we’re going to show you why” – is so pure and, frankly, so uncharacteristic of this market that it truly doesn’t matter. Finding a means to ridicule within that message should be impossible. Somehow, one was found anyway.

In life, situations will arise from time to time that require you to ask the question, “is this the hill I want to die on?”.  And if you find yourself answering “yes” to that question more often than not, you may need to reevaluate what your internal standards for outrage are.

They should be higher than criticizing a fan base for their decision to cheer on a hometown star.

Thanks for reading.

All stats courtesy of hockeydb.com & hockeyreference.com

All salary information courtesy of capfriendly.com