John Tavares receives an unrestricted free agency on the midnight deadline

The hour came midnight for John Tavares with the New York Islanders.

Year 23:59 p.m. The ET deadline, where he could sign an exclusive eight-year extension with the Islanders came and went on Saturday, probably signaling the end of the line for the captain after nine seasons on Long Island.

Now, there was no official word from Tavares or agent Pat Brisson on his plans. He could still theoretically sign in New York after reaching the open market at noon ET on Sunday, but the NHL collective agreement would only allow him to get a maximum of seven years on the new contract should that happen.

Given that Islanders were among the six finalists presenting Tavares at face-to-face meetings this week, it's hard to imagine that He would have missed the opportunity to sign for an extra year of money guarantee if they had won the auction.

old center is the biggest name to reach the free agency without restriction in the era of payroll capitalization. His home town, the Toronto Maple Leafs, now seems to be the favorite for his services, with the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning also in the running.

A cone of silence descended He returned to his off-season home in Toronto on Thursday night. This happened after three days of meetings at the CAA Sports office in Beverly Hills, where the teams were allocated two hours to talk to Tavares, his fiancé and agents.

Just as late as the draft last weekend in Dallas. the hockey industry thought it would stay with the Islanders. They had the benefit of being able to negotiate an extra year in the contract and have recently taken steps to address concerns regarding the organization – getting a new arena contract at Belmont Park earlier this year , then hire general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Barry Trotz in this off season

Still, Tavares has played the most productive years of his career with the Islanders and has appeared only in 24 playoff games. He has clearly outperformed his last contract – a $ 33 million, six-year contract signed in 2011 – but the organization has still failed to form a team able to compete with him for the Stanley Cup.

After replacing Lamoriello with Garth Snow last month he was selling Tavares on the idea that things were going to change on his watch. He was aggressive in trying to attract the cornerstone of the franchise.

"There was a commitment of ownership," Lamoriello told reporters during the writing. "They want us to be the best team in the NHL, and they gave me the authority to do it. The first decision was to get a coach, and in my opinion, we got one of the best in the NHL. Now we have to convince our player that it is the best decision for him. "

One option that the Islanders could have pursued on Saturday is to try to conclude a commercial signing agreement.This would have allowed Tavares to obtain an eight-year contract and to the team of recovering some property rather than letting it go for nothing.

However, when midnight arrived, everything was quiet.

There was no trade announcement and no news of an extension with the Islanders.