Tavares calls negotiations with Islanders “complicated“

The New York Islanders fans will have to accept it : the Isles are heading into the new season with their captain John Tavares set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Management and Tavares could still come to an agreement and sign an extension at some point during the regular season, but as of right now, the 26-year-old will hit the market next July, and every rival team will want to bring him into the fold.

This is all to explain the situation quickly, but Tavares wants to remind fans it is not that easy. 

“Things are a lot more complicated than (the fans) think,” the Islanders captain said per NHL.com. 

“I think everyone’s situation is different, everyone’s circumstances are different, but you look at some of the situations with guys in similar situations that I’m in, it doesn’t always happen the first day or that first month. It takes time. It’s a big decision in your life and you want to make sure you’re thorough and you understand everything going forward."

Tavares is trying his best to remain calm, and focus on the season ahead. 

“I think it becomes a distraction if you let it become a distraction. I don’t try to listen too much to what’s been written or said. I think you make your own judgments, you handle everything in your own way and you go out there and play the game that you’ve been playing since you were 3 years old. I think I’ve been here long enough, a lot of the guys know me and know who I am. I’m not going to try to change any of that.”