Eastern Conference contender could be the favorite to acquire Bo Horvat

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Joshua Deeds
November 19, 2022 (7:46)

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It looks like in Vancouver a massive re-shuffle may be coming after the team has refused to start a proper rebuild. This may be the first step to cleaning up the mess left behind by Jim Benning. The first casualty could be Captain, Bo Horvat, as he and the team haven't made meaningful progress on a contract.

According to Horvat's agent back in October, he established that the Canucks and Morris haven't found the middle ground for the Center:

"I think both sides have tried, but disagreement happens," Horvat's agent, Pat Morris, said Thursday on radio program Donnie and Dhali. "I always see the best agreement always is the one they don't like and the one we don't like. That creates an agreement. But we haven't found that level yet.

"Some of these things take time," Morris continued. "It's not every single player that gets an extension. If there's a disagreement, it doesn't happen. If there's not a meeting of the minds or a consensus, you can't get something done. You're always hopeful when you start out. Vancouver always told me they like Bo Horvat a lot and they have him under contract for this year, but not beyond unfortunately."

With the J.T. Miller contract taking precedence over Horvat, you can't help but feel like it was a misstep by the front office.

With different teams being connected to Bo Horvat right now, Stefan Rosner of New York Hockey Now believes the time to strike a deal for Horvat is now.

This is the trade he proposes:

It's an interesting proposal, given that Josh Bailey would be a great depth piece on a team that just can't put a lethal offense together.

Last year Bailey put up 44 points, and William Dufour has been rated as the Islanders' 2nd best prospect, currently in Bridgeport with 5 points in 12 games.

The only question is would Lou Lamoriello even make a bold proposal for a piece like Horvat they could slot in immediately?

A few weeks ago, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that there were Islanders scouts in Vancouver, something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Looks like if this happens, given Lamiorello's trade history with Vancouver they may just end up trade partners yet again. The Canucks and Islanders nearly came together on a JT Miller trade at last year's draft, but Lou pulled the plug when details went public.