Once the shock of the trade wore off — not shock that Bo Horvat was traded, of course, but rather where he was dealt — the big unanswered question was whether an extension would soon follow.
Not yet.
And therein lies the interesting gamble Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello made Monday in the first blockbuster of trade season, because acquiring Horvat from the Canucks certainly will have a different narrative depending on whether Horvat is around for a few months or a number of years.
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On a call with the media Monday evening, Lamoriello said the Islanders “really haven’t had any discussions yet” with Horvat’s camp, led by veteran agent Pat Morris. I later asked him how much urgency there was, given the gamble that he’s an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
“I think it’s important to (start negotiations) as soon as possible,” Lamoriello responded. “We’ll work at it and do the best we can. But it’s a great point. We’ll do everything we can to get it done.”
Horvat, on an earlier media call, said “nothing has been discussed as of yet” when asked about potential extension talks.
“This all happened so fast. No talks on that yet,” Horvat said. “Obviously, we’ll see if we can get something done, but we’ll leave it to Pat to handle that.”
TRADE GRADES with @hayyyshayyy and @seangentille
A rare lose-lose proposition for both sides, though the Canucks come out looking a little better after targeting a first-round pick from a desperate team.https://t.co/GOCokHMQUo
— dom 🕰️ (@domluszczyszyn) January 31, 2023
On the one hand, I find it difficult to believe that Lamoriello doesn’t at least have an idea what it would take to get Horvat extended, just based on an internal prognostication and sense of the market.
But it’s worth pointing out that one of the sticking points from some teams who were interested in going further down the road on trade talks regarding Horvat was that the Canucks did not give permission to the player’s camp to talk extension with other teams.
That seemed surprising because you would think it would augment the return on a trade. But some front offices in Vancouver’s position have told me in the past the worry if you get the agent involved is he can hijack the trade trajectory and wrestle that control away from where the Canucks ultimately wanted to deal him. Or, more to the point, severely limit trade options.
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In any case, what matters now is whether Horvat is actually inclined to sign an extension in-season with the Islanders or whether after speaking with his agent he decides going to July 1 and the open market is the better business decision in order to maximize the career year he’s having offensively.
I suspect he’s open to having talks with the Islanders. Otherwise, this trade probably doesn’t happen.
Again, though, let me reiterate: I find it hard to believe Lamoriello blindly pulls the trigger on this blockbuster without at least having some kind of idea whether he can sign Horvat.
There is so much riding on getting that extension done, in my mind, when judging this trade, especially when you consider that the first-round pick traded to Vancouver is top-12 protected for this season and unprotected if it slides to 2024. Having Horvat in your lineup past this season is a big deal in many ways for the Islanders, who sit two points out of a playoff spot as of the time of the trade.
The Hurricanes, Bruins and Rangers were among several teams that inquired on Horvat.
For the Rangers, I get the sense it was more tire-kicking because they have three centers they like already. The real need there is a winger before the deadline.
The Hurricanes, as I wrote last week, are not a team that spends big on high-end rental players. So, yes, they had interest in Horvat, but they would have wanted to talk extension with Horvat’s camp first, and as discussed above, that permission was never granted to the agent.
I loved the idea of Horvat in Boston as a signed player past this season, given the uncertainty down the middle after this season with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, but I suspect that without a David Pastrnak’s extension done, it was probably too hard for the Bruins to fully investigate the Horvat option this early before March 3.
The NHL trade market swung into high gear Monday when the No. 1 player on The Athletic’s trade board was moved.
Bo Horvat is off the market, injuries are pilling up and more updates on top deadline targets ⤵️https://t.co/m9rRB0e1HI
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 31, 2023
That the Islanders ended up with Horvat? Not sure anybody saw that coming.
People were quick to point out on social media after the trade was made that if the Isles fall out of the playoff race, the team could always flip Horvat before the March 3 trade deadline. But that would fly in the face of Lamoriello’s history with pending UFAs. He often doesn’t believe in moving them no matter where his team is in the standings.
My sense is Lamoriello is sending a message with Monday’s trade: that he absolutely believes his team is playoff caliber. That’s his only focus.
Other than trying to extend Horvat, of course.
(Top photo of Bo Horvat and Scott Mayfield: Bob Frid / USA Today)
