That’s right, everyone. Lou finally listened to that guy yelling at him for a trade and has acquired the Vancouver Canucks’ captain and leading scorer, Bo Horvat. Many teams were rumored to be a potential landing spot for Horvat, and the Isles were hardly considered the favorites, but we managed to pick him up for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty, and a protected 2023 1st– rd pick. If the Isles get 12th or higher in this year’s draft then that pick will go to Vancouver, otherwise it will become NY’s choice in the 2024 draft.
This is certainly not a cheap deal for the Islanders but considering the blatantly obvious struggles in our offensive game, I believe it is worth it if they can sign an extension. It is unlike Lou to pick up “rentals” that he doesn’t have confidence he can sign, so we will have to wait for any more news on that front. Vancouver has retained 25% of Horvat’s current salary of $5.5 million, as well.
From what I’ve gathered thus far, Isles fans have mixed feelings about the trade. Some believe it to be too much to give up for a possible rental, while others are excited to see a new face in the top three of this lineup. I find myself in the latter group.
The 27-year-old Bo Horvat is on pace to shatter his career-high 61-pt season in 2018-19, currently with 31 goals and 23 assists for 54 pts in 49 games. He had 4 assists in his most recent hame against Columbus. Not only is he a consistent scorer, but he was also a captain. It never hurts to add guys with character to the roster if they can score like that! Perhaps this gives the guys in the room a jolt, maybe they feel the support from the front office to keep going. I can imagine Lee, Horvat, and Barzal finally putting our power plays to use. With 18 PP pts this season (1 pt less than his career high), Horvat will certainly be interesting to watch on our new unit. Ideally, he will be the finisher that Barzal has so desperately needed. I’m in favor of going for it. We are not out of the playoff picture yet, and we know as well as any franchise now how anything can happen once you’re in. We complained for months about scoring and we’ve finally made a move in attempt to fix it. So, let’s see what happens.
It does feel sad to say goodbye to Anthony Beauvillier (9 G – 11 A – 49 GP), especially being so close to Barzal. He may not have been a consistent performer, but he has had a part in some major plays during his time on the Island, most notably his OT goal to send the Islanders to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago, the last game at the Coliseum. What a moment. Räty was also looking to be a promising young forward even at a young age (2 G – 0 A – 12 GP). He clearly has a sense for scoring goals and the Canucks are lucky to have gotten him. We may miss him dearly in the end. But the reality for the Islanders is that we would never get what we needed, an elite goal-scorer that also happens to be a leader, for anything less than what we gave up. Good luck to both players in the future!
There have also been many rumors circulating about other teams in the Metro looking to acquire big-time players, like Timo Meier to New Jersey or Patrick Kane to the Rangers (what a tragedy that would be). I think it is good we took the opportunity to weaponize as any team looking to win games right now would. We have stiff competition in the division as it is.
With everyone expecting Horvat to be traded, it’s also good to see the Vancouver Canucks organization not drag this out like the Bruce Boudreau situation, keeping him there for too long. They will likely be able to make good use of their returns. Fun fact: the Canucks used their return pick from a 2013 trade with Lou as the Devils’ GM to draft Bo Horvat 9th overall for Corey Schneider, who now plays in the Islanders system (currently in the AHL as a Bridgeport Islander).
It sucks having to wait a week now to see him play, but only ten days from now the Islanders will take on the Canucks at UBS Arena. From one coast to the other, hopefully Bo can keep the scoring up and add to the morale of this team, as well as sign an extension with us to do so for several more years afterward.
The Morning Skate 