So we are talking around 110 Tavares jerseys alone in the first hour? And those off the Island will still not get it. That is fantastic to see. I am waiting until I see his name on the contract. Sucks I’ll have to go thru NHL.com. I STILL don’t trust Garth,lol.

Great coverage, btw, if I hadn’t said so already.

This is why it was Garth’s smartest move. Even if Tavares is a bust, he can’t be held responsible for it because of the fan pressure. If he had drafted Duchene or Hedman and they were busts and Tavares ended up being Golden then he never would have heard the end of it.

WebBard, Snow has specifically said how they made this choice regardless of the fan pressure to do so… so he is pretty much erasing the “easy out” that he would have had the way you said it. I respect that, to tell you the truth- because like you said he could easily have been like “Well you got what you wanted.” But its a moot point, because John is gonna be flippin great!

Rock on with the good coverage, Dominik :)

Great player, great business move. Seems to me the franchise is overdue for the stars to align in both departments that way.

I’m really psyched to think that the fans have something to pack the house for. I mean, if you have to do a rebuild, it’s nice to have a gate attraction that gives people a visible example of what you’re building toward. Streit, Okposo, Bailey, Tavares … there are reasons to dream there.

Thanks everybody — it’s been a blast. FGS: You might try icejerseys.com or rivercitysports or even eBay, where a couple of online stores can give you your fix for less than the official league site. Confession: I haven’t customized a jersey since Pierre Turgeon (though I have blanks from every non-fisherman era since).