Tavares has 'earned right' to talk with other teams, Islanders GM says
Forward can become unrestricted free agent July 1; New York remains confident
The Athletic reported Saturday that Tavares -- the Islanders captain, the face of the franchise and a pending unrestricted free agent -- would speak to five teams during the NHL free agency interview period, according to his agent, Pat Brisson.
RELATED: [Tavares will talk to teams other than Islanders: report]
The site also reported Lamoriello flew to Los Angeles with Brisson after the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center.
"I have no disappointment, no discouragement," Lamoriello said. "I think that he's earned every right to make whatever choice he has. The most important thing is, we hope that the decision is to be an Islander."
It still might be.
Though other teams can woo Tavares starting Sunday, only the Islanders can sign him until July 1. The Islanders could also sign him on or after July 1. As Lamoriello always says, when you have time, use it. That goes for both sides, right?
Lamoriello was on the other side of this type of situation two years ago as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the teams that made a pitch to center Steven Stamkos, the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the face of that franchise and a pending unrestricted free agent. Stamkos didn't make it to July 1 before deciding to stay with the Lightning on an eight-year contract.
Still, the Islanders must be nervous.
They hired Lamoriello on May 22. He hired coach Barry Trotz on Thursday. Lamoriello and Trotz have won the Stanley Cup four times between them -- Lamoriello as GM of the New Jersey Devils in 1995, 2000 and 2003 and Trotz as coach of the Washington Capitals this season.
Each spoke to Tavares about their vision for restoring the Islanders to glory.
"We talked about the team, areas that we feel we can fix together, areas that we can look to improve upon, all those things," Trotz said in a media conference call Thursday. "It was a great conversation."
Yet Tavares wants to have conversations with other teams.
It's hard to blame him. He will turn 28 on Sept. 20 and will be committing for the rest of the best years of his career. In his nine seasons with the Islanders, he has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times, made the Eastern Conference Second Round once and hasn't made the conference final, let alone the Cup Final.
GMs could not speak about Tavares on Saturday because of tampering rules, but you know several hope to be on his list. He was a finalist for the Hart Trophy as most valuable player in 2014-15, when he had 86 points (38 goals, 48 assists), and had nearly identical numbers this season with 84 points (37 goals, 47 assists).
San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson is looking for offense. He met with forward Ilya Kovalchuk, an unrestricted free agent who agreed to a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
"We're looking for difference-makers," Wilson said. "We've got a really good foundation. We have a very good hockey team in place right now. If you're going to give up assets and cap space and things like that, to me, in the position we're in, it's for difference-makers."
The Vegas Golden Knights have a lot to offer, too, coming off the Cup Final in their inaugural season.
"Why wouldn't you want to play there?" GM George McPhee said. "It's a good team, good ownership, fantastic fans, sold out, beautiful facilities, game rink, practice rink. It's an easy way to live. It's easy to get around. Weather's great. There's no state tax.
"And as we said early on when we first got started, if we do our job in management, then we can win here, because we have everything we need. First year was a good start, and we'll see what develops now. If there are people that want to play in Vegas, is it a good fit? Does it make sense?"
Tavares has to ask himself similar questions. Ultimately, he has to decide if leaving Long Island is best for him on and off the ice, if he will have a better chance to win elsewhere.
"There's been a commitment from ownership, Scott Malkin, that he wanted this franchise to be the best in the National Hockey League, and he gave me the authority to go out and do whatever's necessary to do that," Lamoriello said. "And the first decision certainly was to get a coach. And in my opinion, we got one of the best coaches in the National Hockey League.
"Now what we have to do is certainly convince our player that this is the right situation for him. But he has to make that decision."
