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John Tavares has jersey, toy snakes thrown at him during return to Long Island

Stan Temming


When it comes to the levels of holding a grudge, there’s crazy-ex and then there are some fans of the New York Islanders.

During his return to the Nassau Coliseum for the first time since he left the franchise in the offseason to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, many in attendance predictably made life miserable for their former captain.

We’ve seen crowds give former stars that left on bad terms a hard time before, but this was wild.

Before the game even began, some burned his jersey in the parking lot and showered the former first overall pick with plastic snakes.

As he left the ice following warmups, more items were tossed in his direction, including a sweater.

Tavares must have known that this would be a difficult homecoming, but it’s hard to believe even he would have expected this much pettiness.

Fans didn’t just boo whenever he touched the puck, they jeered whenever the guy stepped foot on the ice. Then, during the video tribute for him during the first TV timeout, the Canadian television broadcast on TSN decided to cut their microphones inside the arena due to the crowd’s chanting of “we don’t need you” (among other things).

In fairness, that proved to be true.

New York dominated a Leafs team that was playing its third game in four nights. They forechecked aggressively and finished their chances enroute to a convincing 6-1 victory.

“I expected it was coming,” said Tavares after the game, according to TSN’s Mark Masters. “It is what it is. I made my decision and moved forward.”

Toronto’s head coach Mike Babcock helped to make light of the difficult outing, though.

“You must be a real special player and a real special person for them to honour you like that,” he said, according to Jonas Siegel. “They only boo you if you’re important.”

Although the evening didn’t likely go the way he had hoped for Tavares, it is now done nonetheless. Or, should I say, it’s done for now.

Toronto will return to Nassau Coliseum on Apr. 1.

(Getty)
(Getty)

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