From the New York Islanders:
The New York Islanders have acquired Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a conditional first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft.Â
Horvat, 27, is averaging over a point-per-game with 54 (31 goals and 23 assists) in 49 games with the Canucks this season, his ninth in the NHL. Out of the 10 players in the NHL that have taken over 900 faceoffs thus far this season, Horvat is averaging a 56% win percentage, which is fourth in the league behind only Patrice Bergeron (61.2%), Anze Kopitar (57%) and Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau (56.3%).
Paul’s Take: This is exactly what the Islanders needed: a forward who fits Lane Lambert’s system, can play with Mat Barzal and can do everything that the rest of the team couldn’t on a consistent basis. Anthony Beauvillier will be missed, but with the rise of Oliver Wahlstrom the timing for a change of scenery for Beau was now. We wish him nothing but the best and he’ll always be remembered for the winning and final goal at Nassau Coliseum and taking the Isles to game seven against the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals. As for Raty, he’s still developing and even though I thought of him as a third line center for the Isles future, he may be given more time to grow into that 2nd line/top 6 forward everyone else thought he might be. The conditional first round pick in this years draft stings a bit, but as we’ve seen the last few years, there have been plenty of talent sliding down the rounds for Lou to “steal” and make up for that pick, especially if (more likely when) Horvat resigns. Speaking of Horvat’s contract:
So is Lou finished bringing another player in? We here at Isles Talk don’t believe so. Per CapFriendly the Islanders are currently sitting with just over 11 million dollars in cap space by the trade deadline. They could still use a winger and maybe a depth defenseman to solidify a playoff push, which starts after the NHL All-Star Break.
Join us tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8pm as Isles Talk will go live and discuss the Horvat trade, and what the rest of the season could look like moving forward.
PK
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