from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,

Wearing your pajamas at any time of the day in public is apparently a thing these days. All the kids are doing it. But when John Tavares makes his first return to Long Island Thursday night as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, fans of the New York Islanders will not be making a fashion statement. By the thousands they’ll be wearing pajamas and the statement will be one of resentment, bordering on hate.

In any event, things will not be pleasant for Tavares Thursday night. The pajama statement is, of course, a reaction to him signing with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent July 1, then shortly after tweeting out a picture of himself as a child sleeping in Maple Leaf pajamas, wrapped in Maple Leaf bed sheets on a Maple Leaf pillow case.

“It’s extremely raw and unfortunately, I think it’s going to be raw for a long, long time,” said Gary Harding, the executive vice-president of the New York Islanders Booster Club. (Harding’s wife, Claire, is the president and both will be at the game.) “We’re New Yorkers. Here, people don’t forget.”

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