I'm heading to the draft party in a little bit. I'll be updating Twitter (gag, I know) from the Coliseum.
Before I go, there's just one last thing I want to say.
Islanders fans don't dream of Stanley Cups. They don't dream of overtime goals in Game 7. They don't dream of becoming a dominant team that gets 100 points each year. Islanders fans can't dream big because they've had nearly all the optimism beaten out of them over the years. Instead, what Islanders fans dream of is being relevant.
Islanders fans are sick of seeing their team mocked by every analyst. They're tired of seeing their team overlooked by opponents and free agents. They don't want their team to be the laughingstock of the NHL anymore. They want so desperately to be proud of their team, even if just for one night.
That's where the John Tavares love really hits home.
Personally, I don't care if Tavares turns out to be an epic bust. If that's the case, every scout in the NHL was wrong. At this point, I just want to see the Islanders heralded for making the right decision, if only for one night. I don't want to hear any cracks about our "backup goalie GM" screwing up the draft. I want Garth Snow to be praised for keeping one hell of a poker face for two months. But most of all, I want to leave the Coliseum tonight proud to be an Islanders fan.
Because if they can't manage to draft the consensus top guy in the draft, the criticism of the Islanders is going to be worse than ever. And if being an Islanders fan is this hard now, I'm afraid to see what it'd be like if the Islanders pass on Tavares and he becomes a star.
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