The New York Islanders have made a shakeup, and it involves one of their top prospects leaving in a blockbuster deal more than a month ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.
The Islanders announced Monday that they have acquired 27-year-old center Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty and a conditional first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, which is reportedly Top-12 protected.
Horvat, who was the No. 9 overall pick back in 2013, has been the Canucks’ captain for the past four years, and this season already has a career-high 31 goals and 23 assists in 49 games, averaging more than a point per game. Per the Islanders’ release, his 56 percent faceoff win percentage is fourth in the NHL among players with at least 900 face-offs – a list on which new teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau is third with 56.3 percent.
In 621 games all with Vancouver, Horvat has 201 goals and 219 assists, as well as 11 goals and five assists in 23 career playoff games. He is a pending free agent, so this is a true rental for the Isles at the cost of a pick, one of their top prospects, and a young former first-rounder.
Beauvillier, who was the No. 28 pick in 2015, has 209 points in 457 games for the Isles. This year, he has nine goals and 11 assists in 49 games, and he will be under contract for another year, so he certainly fits the bucket of what Canucks exec Jim Rutherford said he was looking for as Vancouver “retools” – players around age 25 who are under longer-term deals.
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Raty, who was the No. 52 overall pick in 2021, made his NHL this season after making his North American debut late last season. In 27 games with AHL Bridgeport this year, he had seven goals and eight assists, and he had two goals in 12 games for the big club.
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