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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It always feels a bit strange when the Islanders are the center of attention in the hockey world, doesn’t it? But for at least a day, whether it was on social media, radio, intermission reports, or the world wide web, everyone covering hockey was talking about Lou Lamoriello’s bold acquisition of Bo Horvat.
That stale group text of Islanders fans from college has been active all of a sudden. Your uncle calling up and asking, “So what’s this deal with this Horvat guy, he any good?” Your little sister is upset because they traded away Mathew Barzal’s cute best friend. It was a different type of 24 hours.
The trade grades are in, the columns have been written, and the hot takes are still coming in hot. I’ve read that the trade is a move of a team in denial that the Islanders struck out. I’ve also read that whether you love the trade or hate the trade, Lou made the Islanders better - and those were from the same publication!
Now we move to the waiting phase. Waiting to see if Horvart will have chemistry with Barzal. Waiting to find out if this lights a spark in the rest of the Islanders team.
Waiting for an extension - but not too long.
Reports are that Lamoriello, as expected, has reached out to Horvat’s agent Pat Morris. The former Canucks captain reportedly turned down a 7-year contract with Vancouver worth 7.5M AAV, so the Islanders know they’ll have to do better than that, and because Horavt is an Islander, they can, by offering up to eight years and a higher AAV.
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