3 Canadian Teams Tied to $68 Million Center by Insider

For the 1st time since 2022, the New York Islanders missed the playoffs. They responded with a major change in leadership by not bringing back the octogenarian general manager and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello, and also trading Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens.

They did take Matthew Schaefer with the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft after winning the Draft Lottery, and are hoping to get back to the playoffs for the 2nd time under head coach Patrick Roy.

But per a new report from analyst Chris Johnston, forward Bo Horvat could soon become available and was even tied back to his former team that he previously captained, the Vancouver Canucks.

Last year, Horvat had 57 points (28G, 29A) in 81 games.

Horvat was taken with the 9th overall pick by the Canucks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and would make his debut the following year, playing in 68 games and scoring 25 points (13G, 12A).

When he was selected for the 2017 NHL All-Star game, he was the youngest player in Canucks history to earn the honour since Trevor Linden. He was also named captain in 2019.

But he was traded to the Islanders in January of 2023 for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a conditional 1st round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

They then signed him to an 8 year contract with an AAV (average annual value) of $8.5 million.

He has 561 points (269G, 292A) in 813 career games with the Canucks and Islanders.