TORONTO -- John Tavares repeatedly stated over the course of last season his desire to remain with the New York Islanders, how he enjoyed living on Long Island, how he was hopeful everything was going to work out and he would still be with the only NHL team he'd ever played for.
Following a 6-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs center once again vehemently denied the belief by many New York fans that he planned all along to leave the Islanders to sign with his hometown team as a free agent on July 1, 2018.
"Well, I left," said Tavares, who will play as a visitor at Nassau Coliseum for the first time when the Islanders host the Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, TSN4, NHL.TV). "I think I had every right to go through the process that I went through. I tried to be open and honest when I made my decision.
"I had no idea what I was going to do until I made my decision. People can take it whatever way they want, but I'm just going to go out there and play and do what I have to do to be at my best. All I can do is control what I can control."
But Islanders fans grew nervous as last season wore on. As each day passed, the knot in their collective stomach became bigger and bigger. Their captain, the man most responsible for the lone Stanley Cup Playoff series win they've witnessed since 1993, could very well leave them as an unrestricted free agent.
Tavares did just that. He reached the window last summer that allowed him to speak with other teams, and the Maple Leafs were waiting.
Few in or outside the game know Tavares better than Oilers forward Sam Gagner, who was in Toronto to play against his longtime friend on Wednesday. Gagner, 29, and Tavares, 28, spent a good portion of their childhoods skating on Gagner's backdoor rink in nearby Oakville, Ontario, which was built by Gagner's father, former NHL forward Dave Gagner.
So when the all too popular notion arises that Tavares knew for years he would leave the Islanders to sign with his hometown team, Gagner can't help but shake his head.
"The narrative seems to be that his mind was made up to go to his childhood team from the get-go, but I know it was the hardest decision he's ever made," Gagner told NHL.com. "Until the final decision was made, he went through it a lot. He's a very meticulous person. He had a lot of good memories playing on the island, and I know he wanted to make it work there. At the end of the day, he got a chance to go to free agency and see what else was out there. He made a decision he thought was best for his family, but at no point was that decision made beforehand.
"I think in his mind, I think he was hoping it would work out [with the Islanders] right to the end. Then he heard what Toronto had to say and the opportunity he had ahead of him. I think that was a tough opportunity to pass up. I'm sure he's as happy as anyone the Islanders are doing well this year and that his friends in the dressing room are doing well. But at the end of the day, he has a great opportunity here and it's a tough opportunity to pass up."
Tavares has thrived in his first season in Toronto. He extended his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists) in the win against the Oilers and is second on the Maple Leafs with 68 points (36 goals, 32 assists), behind Mitchell Marner (74).
Toronto (39-20-4) is one point behind the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.
"I think it is something he needs to put to bed and get on with it," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said of Tavares' return to New York. "The thing about fans is they pay their money and get to say whatever they want.
"He's a good man. He was good for their franchise. He's great for our franchise. He made a decision to come home. I don't know if anyone can fault you for that."
Tavares was quick to remind everyone how eager he was to help turn the Islanders around when they selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. The work ethic was visible each day and his willingness and ability to put New York on his back became normalcy.
That won't matter to the majority of what will surely be a packed Coliseum. It's hardly something he's unaware of.
"I don't really try to worry about it," Tavares said. "Like I've said many times, since Day One when I was drafted there, I fully embraced being an Islander. I loved it and I gave everything I had.
"Whatever it is now, it's not up to me to convince anybody of that. I've got enough to worry about just trying to play my game and help the Maple Leafs. That's what I'm going to do.
"Obviously, it's hard to say what I'll feel. I'm sure it'll be an emotional evening. But at the same time, I want to try to focus on playing and just go out there and do what I have to do."
Islanders forward Matt Martin, who played with Tavares from 2010-16, told NHL.com the two spoke last June, when Tavares wrestled with his decision in free agency. Martin said it was by no means a slam dunk Tavares would sign with Toronto.
"I don't think he had any intentions on it going down, I guess, the way it did," said Martin, who was reacquired by New York from Toronto on July 3, 2018. "He deeply cared about this organization. He loved Long Island. He always speaks highly of this team and living here. It played out the way it played out, but this is what makes sports great. The fans take stuff like this personally, and they should. They watched him grow up, they watched all of us grow up, and they feel connected to you. When you leave, they get upset. That's just part of it.
"We care about Johnny as a friend and as a person, but we still want to beat them on Thursday and our crowd is going to be rambunctious for sure. I think it'll be one of the better environments that we've played in. That'll be our focus. I think our fans will have a little bit of another focus, but our focus will be just finding a way to win continue to stay where we are."
What can't be lost in all of this is how the Islanders have fared in their first season without Tavares. Following a change in infrastructure after New York failed to clinch a playoff berth for a second straight season, Lou Lamoriello was hired on May 22, 2018, to run the franchise. He fired Garth Snow as general manager and coach Doug Weight on June 5 and hired Barry Trotz, fresh off a Stanley Cup championship with the Washington Capitals, as Weight's replacement on June 21.
In Trotz's first season as coach, New York (36-19-7) has gone from allowing the most goals in the NHL (293) to the fewest (144) and enter Thursday tied with the Capitals for the first place in the Metropolitan Division.
"They deserve a ton of credit," Tavares said. "They're having a tremendous season. Obviously, to go from last in a lot of defensive categories to one in pretty much all of them is extremely impressive. They're obviously having a heck of a year and a really good hockey team. It should be a tough game tomorrow night and it's going to be a challenge for us."
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