In all fairness on the Isles board I've asked a few times for proof/a link showing that JT demanded not to be traded. Posters have said "insert name" stated it, but not one person has ever provided a link (to my knowledge). Just saying.
"Demanded" to not be traded is a strong term. The analogy I made at the time was like taking a hot tinder match out on your third or fourth date without so much as a goodnight kiss or any affection. As much as you want to say "so are you just using me for free dinners or can we go make out in the back of my Jeep?", you risk her telling you to screw off and that's that. So you grind your teeth knowing she's probably using you, because you really really wanna make out with her in the back of your jeep. Thus was the Islanders placating Tavares to where he didn't he didn't have to make hard "demands".
The implication was that if we traded John, the team were the ones to break the special magical bond. The Tavares comes back to the Islanders book would be closed forever. He wants to stay with the Islanders, he'd insist again and again. In reality, this would have suited Judas perfectly: having Islander fans crying that he would have stayed with us if evil Snow hadn't broken the special magic bond while moving onto Toronto. Nobody mad at Johnny Sensitive.
But instead we got:
Tavares happy Islanders have no plans to trade him
The news that John Tavares will not be dealt was not actually news at all to Tavares. It was welcome nonetheless.
“Well, I don’t want to be traded,” he said after the team’s rigorous practice Friday at Northwell Health Ice Center.
It is natural for speculation to surface about a star who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. In some instances, there is an assumption that a team that is unsure about signing the player would want to see what it can get, rather than risk the chance of losing him and getting nothing in return. That is not the case with the Islanders.
“It’s nice to hear that,” Tavares said, “but I had a good sense of that already. For me, I’m just trying to do my best to help this team. Everything else is out of my control. The goal is to get to the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup.”
That third paragraph is right - there is an absolute assumption that a team unsure about signing the player would wait to see what it can get. Even put out a general word, just let other GMs kick the tires a bit. Tampa's offering this, Boston can you match that? But no, Snow wouldn't/couldn't even do that, and Tavares knew because he didn't want to be traded. He just wanted to help the team, everything else is out of his control. By "help the team", I of course mean the final 20ish games and so long suckers.
Look, if you want to believe Snow is 100% responsible for everything and John is a pure honest soul who has never told a fib in his life like the Toronto fans, go for it. Tavares lead us on and then politely requested we not break the special magic trust by exploring a trade. He didn't want to be playing playoff hockey in June and risk some goon taking out his ACL, he needed to spend time with Brisson planning how to maximize the media circus around him.
I really hope Garth Snow writes an autobiography one day and just tells all.
