One player from each NHL team who should be on the NHL 18 cover

New York Islanders: John Tavares

Stamkos watch captivated everyone around the league. He got everyone’s hopes up when he liked a tweet and didn’t sign an extension during the season, then proceeded to break everyone’s hearts by re-signing in Tampa Bay. He might re-sign sooner than that, but 2018 is set to become John Tavares watch. He’s an elite playmaker, and at just 26 years old, whichever team signs him will be getting him right while he’s in his prime.

Tavares comes from a family of gifted athletes. His uncle, also named John Tavares, was regarded as the greatest lacrosse player of all time and helped him develop a lot of his on-ice skills. He was a highly touted prospect since junior, when he was the first player ever to be granted “Exceptional Player” status.

Even though they didn’t make the playoffs until his fourth season, he always played an important part in the Islanders’ season. In 2011-12, he famously scored 21 points in 12 consecutive games. The year after that, he had 47 points in 48 games and finished third in Hart voting to get the Islanders to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

He was headed for a career year in 2013-14, but he suffered an injury at the Olympics, and missed the rest of the season. Up until that point, he had 66 points in 59 games, while the Islanders failed to make the playoffs without him. But he came back even stronger the year after when he put together an 86-point campaign and finished second in the scoring race.

The Islanders finally won their first playoff series since 1993 last year, and Tavares cemented himself in Islanders lore when he scored the game-tying and winning goals in Game 6. They couldn’t get past a strong Tampa Bay team, but Tavares has been getting better each year.

He loves playing in Brooklyn, but after a 5-8-3 start to the season, his talents are clearly being wasted. Jack Capuano might not be the only person who won’t be with the Islanders by 2018.