The choice of who would be the 14th captain in Islanders history was less a decision than it was a proclamation.
On Monday at a golf outing at Bethpage State Park, the team officially put the ‘C’ on the sweater of John Tavares, making the 22-year-old center the declarative leader of the team that was already his.
“I’d say it’s surreal a little bit, to be a captain of a NHL team,” said Tavares, who will turn 23 on Sept. 20. “Especially with the Islanders, and all the great players that came through, it’s something that’s pretty special and I don’t take for granted.”
Tavares emerged as a force over the past two years, coming off this most recent campaign when he took the team to its first playoff appearance after a five-year drought. Last season he led the team with 28 goals and 47 points during the 48-game regular season, becoming one of three finalists for the Hart Trophy.
Tavares couldn’t get his young Islanders past the first round, as they lost to the No. 1-seeded Penguins in six games. But the culture of the franchise has turned around on his watch.
“One of the reasons we drafted him, besides his hockey talent, is his character,” said general manager Garth Snow, who drafted Tavares with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009. “He is a top player in the league with a grinder’s mentality when it comes to work every day.”
When Tavares’ rookie contract was about to come up before last season, most pundits picked him to leave New York for his native Canada, where as a junior he was a superstar. Instead, Tavares signed a modest six-year, $33 million contract — all of which was announced even before the team declared its intention to leave Long Island for the plush digs of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, starting in the 2015-16 season.
“First and foremost, he is someone who is well respected by all his teammates,” said coach Jack Capuano. “When we sat down to talk about it, there was one guy who deserved it.”