John Tavares is just one point away from 80 with two games remaining in the regular season. That’s a nice jump up from his 67-point sophomore campaign and it’s further validation of the Islanders’ decision to take him first overall back in 2009. At this point, Tavares has gone from being a top-tier prospect to a legitimate star, but that doesn’t mean he’s done growing.
“I do feel like I’ve taken a lot of strides this year, and I’m happy to see that the things I worked hard on last summer have paid off in some ways,” Tavares said. “When this season is over, I’ll see some more things I want to improve on and try to get to that next level.”
The Islanders will fall well short of the playoffs again and the only upside is that they’ll probably end up with a top-five pick for the fourth straight year. Still, with Tavares leading the way and some other impressive youngsters developing, it might not be too long before Tavares finally gets a chance to show what he can do in the postseason.