On Sunday’s episode of Hockey Night in New York, the Isles went 1-1-1 for the week against the Avs, Yotes, and Knights, resulting in a 1-2-1 record for their 4-game road trip.
Sean and Stefen covered the ups and downs of the trip and the important games they have upcoming in the week ahead. David Alter of THN joined to chat about the Leafs, William Nylander, Tavares notching his 1000th point on Isles home ice, and more!
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It’s nearly one year since GM Lou Lamoriello acquired Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks in an All-Star break blockbuster. The trade was supposedly rare lose-lose deal, a circumstance of two teams in two different positions making a miscalculation that each would regret.
It’s amusing to look back at much of the instant analysis following the trade and how negative the reviews were, not just for the Isles but for the Canucks, too.
The Canucks were said to have moved the biggest trade chip for a good, but not great, package that was a underwhelming first move to ignite a retool. Meanwhile, even with the assumption that Lamoriello knew he could (and would) sign Horvat to an extension, pundits were puzzled why an aging team that was out of the playoff picture would trade yet another first-round pick in an attempt to keep their closing contending window open.
Through the first half of this season, the predicted lose-lose has proven to be a win-win for each organization
While Anthony Beauvillier was already moved to Chicago and Aatu Raty is playing in the AHL, the Canucks used the 1st round pick to acquire D Filip Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings with a look ahead to this season.
The 26-year-old has 30 assists and has solidified the blue line with Norris Trophy candidate Quinn Hughes. Along with JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser, Vancouver is the highest-scoring team in the league and enters UBS Arena after scoring six goals in their last two games against the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.
As for Horvat, after struggling to score goals last season, he settled into his new life on Long Island and onto a line alongside a healthy Mathew Barzal. He’s been as advertised this season and given the Islanders a true top-line and efficient power-play unit. His 16 goals are second on the team, and his matching eight-year extension with Barzal gives them the chance to become one of the more prolific duos since the dynasty years.
The teams made the trade for different reasons, but both would make it again, having done a lot more winning since their “lose-lose” deal.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Isles Fix to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.