ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Islanders are getting a jump on the NHL trade deadline, taking a huge name off the board in the process.
General manager Lou Lamoriello sent Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a protected 2023 1st round draft to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Bo Horvat.
Horvat was expected to be dealt prior to the March 3rd deadline, but perhaps not this soon, and to a Stanley Cup contender, not a team outsider of the playoff race.
The Islanders, though, aren’t too far out of the playoff picture, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021.
Clearly, the plan is Horvat will help the Islanders get into the wild card spot, and we all know anything can happen in the NHL postseason.
"Horvat gives the Islanders some important qualities right away," Locked On Islanders podcast host Gil Martin said. "He's very good on faceoffs, he's effective on the power play, he's a 30+ goal scorer, who can certainly put the puck in the net and he's got some really solid leadership qualities."
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In Horvat, the Islanders are getting Vancouver’s captain who’s in the midst of a career year, with 31 goals and 23 assists for 54 total points in 49 games. He’s already matched his career high in goals, and is seven points shy of the 61 benchmark he set for himself in 2018-19.
He should help take some of the offensive burden from star center Mat Barzal, who’s been struggling as of late since missing a game due to injury. Still, it might be hard to maintain a 21.7% shooting percentage on Long Island.
Horvat’s also set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and won’t be cheap to re-sign, although the Islanders will have negotiating rights until the beginning of free agency.
What are the Canucks acquiring? Well, there’s a 2023 first round pick, which will be bumped to next year if the Islanders finish in the bottom 12.
There’s also Beauvilier, the 28th overall pick in 2015. He’s a decent winger who hasn’t quite popped, topping out with career highs of 18 goals and 39 points in 68 games back in the Covid shortened 2019-20 season.
Raty was a second round pick in 2021 (52nd overall), and a center with a fairly high ceiling.
Altogether, a pretty decent package for a Canucks team that wasn’t planning to re-sign Horvat, and a bit of a risk for the Islanders seeing as they’re not guaranteed to make the playoffs nor convince Horvat to stick around.
At any rate, it’s the first big trade of what’s expected to be a busy deadline season around the NHL.
Be sure to check out the Locked on Islanders podcast for all the Bo Horvat reaction.