New York Islanders Name John Tavares Team Captain

New York Islanders fans got a bit of good news on Tuesday morning when captain John Tavares revealed that he wouldn’t need surgery to repair the injured knee that he hurt while playing for Team Canada in Sochi.

Tavares, 23, sustained a torn MCL and torn meniscus in his knee on February 2oth after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Latvian defenseman Arturs Kulda:

TavaresHitOnKneeBoardsLatvia (1)
via @CJZero

Though rehabilitation is expected to take around eight weeks – meaning JT will likely still miss the remainder of this NHL season – the fact that surgery isn’t necessary for the young star is very positive news both for Tavares and the Islanders. And Ashley Diffendale.

Currently ranked third in the NHL in points, Tavares was placed on injured reserve yesterday.