The date was February 28th, 2019. The Islanders took it to the Leafs, hammering them 6-1 in the contest and showering John Tavares with boos every time he touched the puck. They shouted obscenities at him, threw rubber snakes on the ice and couldn't even muster a golf clap from the fans during his tribute video for the 9 years he gave the Islanders before exercising his contractual right to play out his full contract with the team and leave as a UFA the following summer.
Well, Isles fans are at it again, displaying the same petty, obnoxious behaviour, this time booing Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets every time he touched the puck. To their credit, at least the fans didn't throw any rubber snakes on the ice - not that they had any right to do that anyway, since, according to Gaudreau himself, he had never even spoken with the Islanders during free agency before signing his deal in Columbus.
That's downright embarrassing behaviour by the fans in attendance at UBS Arena in my opinion. Johnny Gaudreau didn't owe the Islanders anything. In fact, from a pure rumour perspective, the two most common destinations that Gaudreau was linked to were New Jersey and Philadelphia.
The New York media must have really been pushing the narrative that Gaudreau was going to be an Islander for them to take it personally when he signed with the Blue Jackets.
POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 15 | 339 ANSWERS Islanders fans are at it again, showing their lack of class by giving Johnny Gaudreau the John Tavares treatment Did the Islanders fans have any right to boo Johnny Gaudreau on Saturday? | ||
No, that's embarrassing behaviour | 230 | 67.8 % |
Yes, but it's the media's fault | 15 | 4.4 % |
They paid the admission, let 'em boo | 94 | 27.7 % |
List of polls |