Former Islanders general manager Garth Snow weighed in on forward John Tavares on a podcast Friday, saying he shouldn’t have received boos from New York fans when he returned to the city more than four years ago.
In an interview with the New York Post newspaper in August, Snow defended the current captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose contract signing on July 1, 2018 still causes resentment among the majority of Long Island fans.
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“When John came back [au Nassau Coliseum, le 28 février 2019], the reception – or lack thereof – he received was not his fault. The decision was made not to trade him and wait for the free agent market. It wasn’t his decision,” he told the Cam & Strick Podcast.
“He never told me he planned to go somewhere else and he never said he was staying. The things I hear about this story are false. It’s a little frustrating for John because he’s such a noble person and will never talk about it. “He didn’t do anything wrong,” Snow continued.
The latter was relieved of his duties as CEO in June 2018, a month before Tavares’ departure. He remained with the Islanders as a special advisor for the 2018-2019 season. The Leafs forward has now scored 354 points in 360 games since arriving in the Queen City.