John Tavares hurt his MCL during the 2014 Winter Olympics. While Tavares will miss the rest of the season he will not have require surgery which means he should return for next season healthy and ready to go.
Tavares had 24 goals and 66 points in 59 games with the New York Islanders this season and his injury was not well received by general manager Garth Snow.
“Are the IIHF or IOC going to reimburse our season-ticket holders now? It’s a joke,” Snow said. “They want all the benefits from NHL players playing in the Olympics and don’t want to pay when our best player gets hurt. This is probably the biggest reason why NHL players shouldn’t be in the Olympics, it should just be amateurs.”
While Tavares said he understood the frustration of Snow he defended the use of NHL players in the Olympics.
Tavares on Olympics: " I think it’s important for us to play… I love playing for my country and if I got the call again, I would." #Isles
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) February 25, 2014
“I think it’s important for us to play… I love playing for my country and if I got the call again, I would.” said Tavares. “You understand why teams are concerned about injuries. I know he (Snow) cares a lot about the Islanders and so do I.”
