Canucks send C Bo Horvat to Islanders

The New York Islanders have acquired C Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks. The Islanders are sending F Anthony Beauvillier, C Aatu Raty and a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to Vancouver in the deal. The first-round pick is top-12 protected.

This is the first of many big moves that should go down before the NHL Trade Deadline, which isn’t until the beginning of March. The Canucks are expected to be very active and this deal likely comes earlier than it would have because of sense of urgency on the Islanders part. New York 4-8-3 stretch which has them clawing to get back into the playoff picture in the East. Horvat should help an offense that has been very stagnant this season.

Horvat, 27, is in the final year of his contract with an average annual value of $5.5 million. He has 54 points (31 goals, 23 assists) in 49 games for the Canucks this season. Horvat gives the Islanders pretty good depth down the middle for the rest of the season with Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson. New York still lacks depth of scoring on the wings, where it’s mostly players who are slow and old.

Given the amount the Islanders gave up, that’s likely why the Canucks pulled the trigger on a Horvat deal now. Beauvillier is 25 years old and has two years remaining on his deal worth $4.15 million annually. He has 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) in 49 games this season. Raty was a second-round pick back in 2021 and has two goals in 12 games for the Isles this season.

Beauvillier is a decent middle-6 forward the Canucks can use on the wing with J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson. Beauvillier also fills the void left by Ilya Mikheyev, who is out for the season. The Canucks are also missing Tanner Pearson. Vancouver always had decent depth down the middle with Pettersson and Miller. The Canucks can also see what they have in Beauvillier and extend him after this season if need be.

Horvat on the Islanders should help a power play that ranks almost dead last in the NHL. The Isles offense is also in the bottom half of the League. You would think Horvat centers either the first or second line. Jean-Gabriel Pageau gets dropped to the fourth line while Nelson should center a third line, though his most consistent linemate is captain Anders Lee, who is the Islanders best scoring wing. The Isles could also use Horvat on the wing rather than at center to even out the lines and add more talent up top. Horvat skating with either Barzal or Nelson and Lee would create a more dynamic line.