john tavares trade bagel shop

John Tavares turned down a lifetime of free bagels for Toronto

When news broke that John Tavares had signed a $77-million, seven-year deal that ends his time with the New York Islanders, Torontonians were overjoyed. Others, not so much.

Tavares was born in Mississauga and posted a sweet message to his new team and his new(ish) city. 

But Tavares was not so quick to forget his old city. He gave an emotional goodbye to the Islanders.

This sudden move by Tavares, despite the heartfelt goodbye, left a lot of Islanders fans pretty upset and angry.

A bagel chain in New York state is using their product to acknowledge the fanbase's heartache, and also to keep them from burning old Tavares jerseys.

Two Bagel Boss locations in the state are running a deal where customers can trade in their Tavares Islanders jersey for a dozen bagels.

The hashtag used in the tweet, #bagelsFor91, was actually started by David Rosner and his cousin Donald Rosner — owners of Bagel Boss locations — as part of the campaign to offer Tavares an unlimited supply of bagels for life if he signed with the Islanders again.

The offer didn't change the outcome and the Rosners told Newsday that any Tavares items returned to them would be donated to charity.

"This was a difficult decision by him and we have to respect his decision and appreciate what he’s done for Long Island," said David, co-owner of the Bagel Boss in Hicksville, to Newsday. "And it’s straight up disrespectful to burn his apparel."

Lead photo by

@mapleleafs


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