The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 3-0 on Sunday in John Tavares’ first game in Belmont. The former captain of the Islanders took the ice in the building he could be calling home; however, he now plays North of the border, still receiving hate from his former fans. Many fans continue to partake in the relentless boos toward Tavares, and with the opening of UBS Arena, one has to wonder if it is finally time to move on from John Tavares.

In terms of on-ice production, the Islanders have moved on from their former captain years ago. Making it past the First Round immediately after losing Tavares suppressed all doubts about the Islanders, and the Maple Leafs’ failure to accomplish the same feat made the Islanders’ success sweeter. Since then, the Islanders have gone to back-to-back conference finals, losing both times to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Toronto Maple Leafs still have not made it past the First Round and are spinning in circles, hoping that each year will bring progress. The Islanders’ continued success over the Maple Leafs has eased the pain of Tavares’s departure, but a large portion of the fan base is still bitter about the breakup.

Our doors are officially open! Welcome to UBS Arena at Belmont Park. pic.twitter.com/hArKxyjLz5

— UBS Arena (@UBSArena) November 20, 2021

Losing the star of your team, especially in the way the Islanders lost Tavares, stings emotionally for a long time, but Tavares had valid reasons to leave. The Barclays Center as an arena was a holistically horrible experience and did not yield fruitful results for the Islanders. On the ice, despite heroic efforts from Tavares, the Islanders made it to the Second Round only once. The opportunity to leave a seemingly dysfunctional organization to play in his hometown eventually tore Tavares away from the Island, and now, boos come down on him.

John Tavares on #Islanders opening UBS Arena:

"It's tremendous for the franchise and fanbase, something that's been kind of hanging over them for a long time…not only is it a new building, it's their building, and [comes with] a contending team, a really good team."

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) November 20, 2021

UBA Arena has opened, and it is time to move on and to stop booing Tavares despite the aforementioned reasons to feel frustration toward him. The Islanders’ success paired with the misery of the Toronto Maple Leafs adds up to a mutually beneficial breakout; the Islanders have gotten their successful and a competitive team that they desired for years. To that end, simply stating that fans need to move on is said not out of annoyance but rather happiness. Hopefully, when fans move on from the breakup, they can come to appreciate all that Tavares did for the organization.

Moving on from booing Tavares would be the nail in the coffin to the Garth Snow era and the mess of Barclays center and the beginning of a new era in Belmont. Belmont deserves to create new memories with Mathew Barzal, Adam Pelech, and Barry Trotz at the helm; the only way to do that is to leave the negativity surrounding Tavares in the past.

John Smark