It’s been four years since John Tavares took his talents to his hometown team the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he was the Islanders for nine seasons, the lack of support around him during his tenure, limited the chances for the New York Islanders to ever take that next step as a franchise.

Since he’s left, the Islanders have become a different team. They have become more organized as a franchise and have added pieces that allowed for them to take that next step. Albeit no Stanley Cup has been raised, but there is no arguing that the New York Islanders are in a significantly better situation then when Tavares was with the club.

However, one issue that arose when Tavares’ was still on the island is still an issue today.

The lack of offensive support for the star of the team has held the Islanders back from accomplishing the goal of lifting a Stanley Cup.

Since Mathew Barzal stepped into Tavares’ shoes on the top line, there have been players put alongside him, players that the team expected to work