After months of waiting, the Islanders finally got to see their reward last night.
John Tavares, the Isles’ No. 1 draft pick, scored a power-play goal and added an assist in his NHL debut, a season-opening 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins at a sold-out Nassau Coliseum against Pittsburgh.
“It was a [heck] of a game,” Tavares said.
But it became clear again last night that the young forward’s future on Long Island — and that of the organization — is still tenuous at best.
Just minutes before Tavares took the ice for the first time, team owner Charles Wang said he was “disgusted” that yesterday’s self-imposed deadline regarding approval for his Lighthouse project that would include a renovated arena and development around it, had passed without an answer from the town of Hempstead.
Wang said that he would speak with town supervisor Kate Murray this week after receiving a call from her on Friday, but that his patience was wearing thin.
“You can say you’ll call the bluff, but sometimes somebody does go ahead with whatever it is,” Wang said of the notion that he wouldn’t sell or move the team because of his ties to Long Island.
“At this point, he has to consider his options,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “This lack of a decision after all this time is inexplicable. If it’s not going to happen, let’s get it over with.”
The off-ice issues took away from Tavares’ first game, during which he knocked in a loose puck on a power play 7:09 into the second to give the Isles a 2-1 lead over the Stanley Cup champs. He later missed wide in the shootout.
“That’s something I have to work on,” Tavares said. “Those are important.”
The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, who scored the clincher in the shootout, warned against setting the expectations too high for Tavares.
“He’s not gonna be judged on his career because of his first game,” Crosby said.
The patience needed to deal with that development can be more easily talked about than practiced, but Tavares and his teammates are trying to be realistic.
“I just want to feel like one of the guys,” said Tavares. “We all have the same goal and that’s to turn things around here.”
But coach Scott Gordon doesn’t want all the focus to be on the center.
“We’ve gotta let him grow into being a superstar,” Gordon said. “We don’t want to put the burden on him to save the franchise.”
It’s hard not to, with the organization on such shaky footing, from its lack of success on the ice to its murky future on Long Island off of it.
Before anything is decided, though, Isles’ fans will at least be able to watch Tavares — for now.
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Gordon said Doug Weight had recovered from his groin injury, but kept him out because he only had six practices in training camp.