Islanders’ Tavares eager for season
NEW YORK, NY (The Spread) – Following a long summer, Islanders’ center John Tavares is eager to get the 2014-15 NHL season started.
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Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury at the Winter Olympics in February while playing for Canada. He wound up sitting out the Islanders’ last 11 22 games of the year but he’s reportedly had a good summer of training.
“While the summer’s been good for other reasons, it’s been too long and I want to change that this coming season,” said Tavares. “It’s probably the longest stretch I’ve ever gone without playing. I’m looking forward to training camp and I want to finish off the summer strong and come into the year motivated with a lot to prove.”
In 350 career games, Tavares has racked up 136 goals, 179 assists and 315 points for the Islanders, who were busy this offseason. The team signed former Capitals center Mikhail Grabovski to a four-year, $20 million contract and also added former Maple Leafs winger Nikolai Kulemin to a four-year, $16.75 million deal.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Islanders are 66/1 long shots to win the 2015 Stanley Cup. They’re also 33/1 long shots to win the Eastern Conference, giving them the same odds as the Hurricanes and Senators.
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