The New York Islanders have wasted little time showing off their brand new toy.
On Sunday afternoon, general manager Lou Lamoriello and his Islanders front office staff announced that recently-acquired forward Bo Horvat had agreed to terms on an eight-year, $68 million contract extension set to begin this July and run through the 2030-31 season.
The contract carries an annual average value of $8.5 million and does not feature any sort of signing bonus – something typically quite popular in recent years amongst large-scale contracts.
It is a bump up of $3 million annually from his six-year, $33 million deal signed back in September of 2017 in Vancouver.
“It’s too long, and it’s too much money,” Lamoriello said of the deal just minutes after the announcement went live.
Lamoriello dealt a first round pick, prospect Aatu Raty and long-tenured Islander Anthony Beauvillier to Vancouver for Horvat back on January 30 – midway through both the Canucks’ and Islanders’ All-Star break.
Despite not yet having played even a single game for the franchise, the team has determined his worth and served it up on a silver platter. The Vancouver Canucks ‘lifer’ signed on the dotted line, putting himself in orange, blue, white and black until his late-30s.
“I’ve heard lots of unbelievable things about the organization, the city and the all the players on it and nothing but respect for this organization,” Horvat said shortly after being dealt to New York. “So, really, really looking forward to it, the family is looking forward to it and I want to help this team out as best as possible any way I can.”
The 27-year-old London, ON. product is in the middle of a career season, averaging over a point-per-game in his 49 contests with Vancouver. He has 31 goals and 54 points – to which his next goal will be a new career-high.
Selected ninth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft by Vancouver, Horvat went on to serve as team captain in the last four of his nine seasons in British Columbia. This past weekend saw Horvat compete in the 2023 All-Star Weekend on the Pacific Division team, despite wearing New York Islanders colours. He skated with his old mate Elias Pettersson one final time, while also joined by new teammates Brock Nelson and Ilya Sorokin within the Metropolitan Division.
The Islanders and Canucks face off this week, with Vancouver visiting the Island in a a 6:30 PM central time showdown on Thursday evening.
.png)