New York Islanders: Analyzing the team as season hits 61 games

John Tavares Saga

As the days go on John Tavares is less and less likely to remain in Brooklyn/Uniondale/Belmont for the next 8 years.

The captain is adamant on staying as Islander but the Thursday night game against his hometown team the Maple Leafs will be a factor on if he walks they can go and sign him too.

He can test the market and stay.

However, that is unlikely to happen. JT will be able to go anywhere he wants. The future of the Isles is looking down. If he tests the market  he will likely walk.

The Isles should obviously not trade him unless he demands to be. He just is not that kind of guy though.

The question marks around JT makes this trade deadline important too. If the team wants to convince him to stay, they will need to make moves to improve right now.

He won’t stick around for another rebuild.

The Isles front office and their fans need to start panicking. Getting JT long-term needs to happen. This is the number one issue to worry about.