Bo Horvat gets honest about trade to Islanders

The Vancouver Canucks experienced an absolute disaster of a season last year, as there were several changes within the organization as well as on the ice. One of the biggest changes that took place aside from the firing of head coach Bruce Boudreau was the trade of captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders in late January. 

The official trade was Horvat from the Canucks to the Islanders in exchange for Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Horvat himself would soon sign an eight-year contract extension with his new team, even though it took a bit for him to get acclimated to his new surroundings, scoring just four goals in the last 24 games of the year after having already scored 31 with the Canucks. 

He admits that it "stung" that he couldn't get a new contract worked out with Vancouver, but that he thrives on and welcomes the pressure.

“I knew anything could happen at that point,” Horvat said. “To not get something done [with Vancouver], obviously, it stung a little bit, but, at the same time, when I got traded to the Island, and they offered me that contract, just being there and seeing the facilities, the people and the organization, everybody spoke so highly of it. It was kind of a no-brainer. We couldn’t be happier to be there.”

“I like that pressure. I like that intensity,” Horvat said. “You want to be in a market where they care about the game, and they care about the team, and that’s where I am right now.”

And despite only two points in their six-game Round 1 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes, Horvat will be entering next season as the team's top center - and is looking forward to playing again in front of the "passionate" fans on the Island. 

“Those Long Island fans, they’re passionate,” Horvat said. “They’re obviously chanting through the game, and when you’re not playing well, you’re playing about it too.

“You’re still going to get talked about, so you just got to deal with it.”