Are the Islanders Relevant Again?

John Tavares is creating some buzz on Long Island

By ADAM GRETZ and FANHOUSE.COM

Updated 2:31 PM EST, Mon, Jun 29, 2009

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John Tavares has yet to step on the ice for the New York Islanders, but he's already making an impact for the once-proud franchise that has been aimlessly stumbling along a path of mediocrity for the past decade-and-a-half. This is, after all, a franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since David Volek beat Tom Barrasso in double-overtime way back in 1993.

Can Tavares, an 18-year-old phenom, change all of that? Well, he certainly can't hurt. Heading into Friday's NHL Entry Draft, there were rumors that the Islanders might be leaning toward either Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman or Brampton center Matt Duchene with the top pick. In the end, the team selected Tavares, and already Islanders fans are roaring their approval in the form of cold hard cash.

Following the selection of Tavares on Friday, Newsday spoke to Islanders president Chris Dey as he proclaimed to the hockey world that the Islanders are, in fact, relevant once again, saying: "That was an opportunity for us to make a statement to the hockey world ... We are relevant, we matter."

There was also this interesting nugget of information, again, from Newsday:

That relevancy was reflected in ticket and merchandise sales. According to Dey, more than $79,000 in ticket plans (not including renewals) were sold in the first hour after the pick, along with $15,000 worth of Tavares merchandise.

Perhaps the sudden increase in ticket sales had something to do with the announcement that if fans bought season tickets that night, they would have an opportunity to meet Tavares this week.

The Islanders hosted a draft party on Friday that drew an estimated 10,000 fans (they averaged just under 14,000 fans per game during the regular season). When the selection of Tavares was announced, the scene looked something like this:

That's just awesome. But, the original question remains: are the Islanders relevant again? Not quite, but they could be getting there, and, if nothing else, they appear to be on the right track.

It would be incredibly unfair to Tavares to expect him to walk into New York and instantly turn the Islanders around. Last year's No. 1 pick, Steven Stamkos, for example, was the consensus top pick in the draft, and he was joining a team that was four years removed from winning the Stanley Cup, and still featured players such as Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Stamkos not only struggled early on, but the team was a disaster on (and off) the ice. I'm not suggesting that Tavares and the Islanders will be a repeat of last year's Tampa Bay squad (because, well, nobody can repeat that mess), just pointing out that it takes time to correct years of bad moves and re-stock what has been a depleted roster.

That said, with Tavares, and other youngsters like Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey, and veterans Mark Streit and Rick Dipietro, there at least appears to be some hope for the future if you're an Islanders fan.