The New York Islanders made perhaps the biggest and most confusing splash of trade season yesterday, acquiring star sniper Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks.
Critics of the trade question the Islanders’ gamble on a pending unrestricted free agent, notably with the team out of the playoff picture at the All-Star break. A contract extension between the two parties would ensure that New York’s concessions in the trade weren’t for naught.
The day after the trade, though, Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading that Horvat is “open” to contract extension talks with the Islanders. While not a certainty, it seems like the door is open for a long-term union between the two parties, even if New York can’t claw back into the playoff picture this season.
“[The contract talks] will commence in short order, is what I’m being told,” LeBrun said. He also noted that the Islanders would’ve been on Horvat’s list of teams to speak to had he gone to market on July 1, which is something to keep in mind as talks progress.
Only Oliver Wahlstrom is on the Islanders’ list of notable restricted free agents to lock up next offseason. His value is limited, considering his offensive inconsistency and the likelihood that he’s out of the lineup for the remainder of 2022-23 with an injury. He played just 35 games.
With that being said, the Islanders have slightly north of $16MM in cap space to play with for 2023-24, per CapFriendly. Semyon Varlamov and Scott Mayfield are also pending UFAs whose roles on the roster need to be replaced, but could likely be done for cheaper than their current combined cap hits of $6.45MM.
If the two sides can agree on an extension, the Islanders have the space to give Horvat a deal with a cap hit north of $8MM, the likely benchmark for his caliber of talent. The merits of such a contract, considering his sky-high 21.7 shooting percentage this season signals some regression ahead, can be debated.
Go Bo!
He hasn’t even played a game as an Islander. Can we just stop pretending like this is nothing more than Bo just saying the right things? Realistically he can’t say “no I don’t want to play for the Islanders long time, I’m going to test free agency”. Why do people even ask him stupid questions like this at this point?
@manosthof—In rare cases, a player will say, “I’m not signing here long-term.” Walt Jr. #1 (Matt Tkachuk) comes to mind. I kind of wish more players showed that kind of honesty out loud, as it would throw some shade on their soon-to-be former team.
Lou signed Pageau in short order! About 2 weeks it took.
This isn’t really reporting on what Horvat’s said publically, though. It’s LeBrun commenting on what reports he has from behind the scenes.
@Josh—Which means more like “leaks” from Patrick Morris via Bo, rather than public statements from Lou, I would imagine, eh?
Oh, exactly haha. I’m sure it was leaked from someone close to Horvat’s camp
@Josh—And I have the bent crowbar to prove it’s impossible to get anything out of Lou! :)
A very natural question to ask any pending UFA who just got dealt and, yes, a very expected and diplomatic answer. Chill.
@Tribucks—We already are…chilled. We aren’t getting worked up about the situation—that would be others closer to the event horizon.
And pageau is a third line player
“Please sign Horvat to an 8 x $8 M AAV extension, Lou” – Rangers, Devils, Caps, Pens, Jackets and Canes fans.
Until he had this Matt Duchene (dog) like contract year, Horvat’s career best season was 61 points and he only broke 50 points 4 times in his career.
Best of luck.
@66TheNumberOfTheBest—I just got through seeing that on his H-R page, too. $8MM would be steep for that production, *but*, what if some of that was due to the miserable muck that Vancouver has been in for several years? It’s possible, Horvat could find another gear and realize his potential. Unfortunately, unless the Isles have a drastic change of course from their “0-to-minus 1” philosophy, nobody on that team will realize much of anything, other than mediocrity. On the right team, he might flourish, similar to Pavelski, but having more potentially good years ahead of him. I kind of hope a better situation will be available for him this off-season.
Playing with Miller (99pts), Petey, Boeser, and Hughes isn’t exactly muck.
Defensively they are Muck.
Pearson as his wingman was average but Bo is a number 2 Center and so he got the Boesers, Garlands, and Pearsons instead of the top guys.
He is 2nd line player
lol he’ll say the right things but I seriously doubt he’ll sign there. They aren’t close to winning and he has nobody to play with.
Random statement…
The Pittsburgh Penguins collectively have the dumbest and ****iest fan base relative to team success in North American pro sports.
Part of me can’t wait for us to stink so those bandwagon know nothings get lost.
After seeing how Niners fans have conducted themselves these past few days, they are easily worse than Pens fans.
Could Lou flip Horvat for a similar haul as what he gave up, if he was unable to sign Horvat b4 trade deadline? If Isles found themselves out of a legit playoff spot and Horvat hasn’t signed, Lou could flip him for another teams 1st plus….basically it gives Lou a month to sort things out
I hope so
Yes. Particularly if they retain salary on top of the 25% retained by Vancouver.
Lou moves Bo and gets a pick that is worse than the one he gave up. Probably an equal or worse prospect
Totally worth it.
I think the Islanders wanted to move Bevillier and so they’ll really just need a 1st rd pick and a good C prospect to recoup their losses. I think they’ll easily get more than that if they flip him but the intent is to sign him. He’s 27. He and Barzal are the only players that aren’t towards the end of their career on the roster at the forward position.