The New York Islanders and forward Bo Horvat have agreed to terms on an eight-year contract extension, the team announced Sunday. The contract’s average annual value is $8.5 million, according to team sources. Here’s what you need to know:
- The deal comes after the Islanders acquired Horvat in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30.
- Horvat averaged over a point-per-game with 54 (31 goals and 23 assists) in 49 games with the Canucks this season.
- Horvat represented the Islanders at the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend, along with forward Brock Nelson and goalie Ilya Sorokin.
#Isles News: The New York Islanders have agreed to terms with forward Bo Horvat on an eight-year contract.
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 5, 2023
Backstory
Horvat, 27, is in his ninth NHL season after Vancouver selected him with the ninth pick in the 2013 draft. He’s played 621 games in his career, scoring 201 goals, 219 assists and 420 points. The nine-year veteran has played in 23 postseason games, where he scored 11 goals, five assists and 16 points.
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Was this extension expected?
A long-term contract extension for Horvat seemed inevitable after the trade was announced last Monday, particularly after general manager Lou Lamoriello made it clear that it was the organization’s desire to keep him around. There had even been speculation that had Horvat not signed by the March 3 trade deadline, perhaps the Islanders would flip him. That could have been a potential distraction. Now, the Islanders’ sole focus for this season will be working themselves back into the playoff picture, as they begin the final 30-game stretch Monday in Philadelphia two points out of the second wild-card spot.
Horvat’s new contract comes shortly after Mathew Barzal’s eight-year, $73.2 million extension that he signed in October. That was an important moment for the franchise, which had been spurned by other top players in the past. Horvat signing so quickly upon his arrival is another sign that the Islanders organization, with UBS Arena now standing tall in Elmont, could become a destination for other players around the league. — Kurz
How will this affect the Islanders?
While the Islanders are probably going to feel the effects at some point of their lack of high-end prospects and draft picks, including the conditional 2023 first-rounder they surrendered to Vancouver as part of the package for Horvat, the 27-year-old will now serve as a building block as they attempt to remain competitive beyond this season.
Along with Barzal, 25, defenseman Noah Dobson, 22, and goalie Ilya Sorokin, 27 — who will be eligible for an extension this summer himself — the Islanders would seem to have a good core of young, improving players while other veterans, particularly the forwards, get up in age.— Kurz
Required reading
- Where will Bo Horvat play with the Islanders and could New York make more trades?
- LeBrun: Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello bets big on Bo Horvat — will it pay off?
- NHL trade grades: Bo Horvat moves to Islanders. Is it a lose-lose deal?
- Lou Lamoriello’s last stand? Islanders, GM face pivotal month after Bo Horvat trade
(Photo: Jasen Vinlove / USA Today)