Chicago Blackhawks: Analyzing every No. 1 pick since Patrick Kane
106. . C. New York Islanders. John Tavares. 09. player
Most players on this list are still on the team that drafted them with the first overall pick. Well, John Tavares is one of the exceptions. He had a monster free agency hunt a few summers ago where he ultimately decided to leave the New York Islanders and sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In both of his NHL homes to date, he has been extremely successful and lived up to all of the hype.
In 814 games split between the Islanders and Maple Leafs, he has 345 goals and 424 assists for 769 points in his NHL career. That is a very solid total for a guy who went first overall in an era that it is very hard to score in. Like Kane, he has had a tremendous effect on his team in the offensive zone for a long time. The only difference is that Tavares hasn’t had the same team success. He has only been a part of one team that won a single playoff round.
He has had a fair amount of success against Chicago but not pure domination by his standards. He has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 18 games against the Blackhawks. He hasn’t seen them as often due to the fact that he has only played on Eastern Conference teams. Regardless, Tavares is an elite player and one of the best in the world.