Former Canuck Bo Horvat Takes Random Shot at Vancouver

Unprompted, Horvat, who had two assists in the win, said “I mean it"s been unbelievable. A lot better than Vancouver, I will tell you that for free," much to the delight of the fans of the New York Islanders.

First Round Pick to Captain

During his time in Vancouver, Horvat was one of the most important pieces to the team. During the 2013 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks traded goalie Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the 9th overall pick in the draft. With that pick, the Canucks selected Horvat and hoped to have found their long term, line-1 centre.

With the Canucks, Horvat established himself as a hard nosed player, willing to go the extra mile to make a play while being a pit of a threat on the goal sheet. While he never possessed the ability to be a point-per-game player, he certainly became the captain that the team needed, helping to fill the leadership void created by the retirement of Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

As a result, Horvat was named the 14th captain during the Canucks" 50th season in 2019 and served in the role until his trade this past winter.

Heading to Long Island

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the Canucks made the unpopular decision to send Horvat as the team looked to retool their roster. Meanwhile, the Islanders were pushing for a playoff position in a crowded Metropolitan Division. The two teams identified one another as a good fit and Horvat made his way to Long Island.

Interestingly enough, the Islander"s president of hockey operations, Lou Lamoriello, was the main Devils decision maker in the trade that allowed the Canucks to select Bo in the first place.

In Long Island, Horvat was quickly extended, signing an 8-year, $68 million contract that led Lamoriello to jokingly say “All I can tell you is it"s too long and it"s too much money." Regardless of the length or total money involved, the Islanders had their man. And in New York, Horvat wrapped up the most productive season of his career.

The Random Shot

What"s perhaps most confusing about Horvat"s comments were how they seemed completely unprompted. No question was asked of Horvat to compare his time to Vancouver and he simply could have made the expected comment of how he"s excited to help his new team compete for a Stanley Cup.

After a couple of days of blowback, Horvat apologized on Monday saying “I didn"t mean any disrespect to the fans of Vancouver or my teammates or the city of Vancouver at all. It wasn"t directed at them."

While Horvat likely didn"t mean to take a dig at his former organization, fans in Vancouver are not likely to forgive and forget the comments made by their former captain.

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