If Bo Horvat ignites Islanders, his expensive extension will be worth it

Islanders' general manager Lou Lamoriello may consider it, 'too long and... too much money', but Bo Horvat's eight-year extension will be worth it if his arrival in New York reignites Mathew Barzal.

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JULIAN MCKENZIE: How do we feel about the trade now, now that Bo Horvat has been extended for eight years and $8.5 million.

OMAR: I jumped the gun. I withdrawal my stance. I jumped the gun. I thought about it afterwards, because, like, if Lou had-- It's all about, I think, for me, like, the timing of it is, like, the greatest weapon, and, again, I was very confused as to why the Canucks made the trade then, and not wait until March, and for the Islanders, it's like, yes, they made this trade. You know, they don't give up a lot. Again, I'm not privy to, like, the Islanders organization, but, like, on paper, it doesn't look like a lot, or it doesn't look like what we expected a Horvat trade would look like, and, hey, you know, the fact that they're not guaranteed to make the playoffs, there's an opportunity where they can flip him again.

So, like, that in itself puts the Islanders in a pretty sick position. Now I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know, man. Because I thought about it, and I'm like, you know what, the Islanders play a system that takes away from offense, and Horvat's shooting at 22%, so it may not be sustainable long term, and instead of waiting, you extended him, so you might finish this year well, but maybe next year, it might not be too well, and the after that, and the year after that, and there's a no movement clause, and I think about it, I'm like, well, you know what, I take back my fleece stance. I don't think it was that much of a fleecing. But it's an interesting deal, that's for sure.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I've gotta say, we've gotta shout out Bo Horvat one time, because he gets himself out of a situation in Vancouver that was getting more volatile by the second. He gets offloaded to the New York Islanders, OK, fine, and he gets himself an eight-year $8.5-million million deal before he even steps on the ice and plays for the Islanders. Like, I kept thinking, like, man, like, why would these teams do this, but I've gotta start thinking more about Bo Horvat, man! He secured the bag for a team and he hasn't even played for them yet!

Think about it! Think about it! He could have played games, right, and the Islanders, you're right, they could have easily said, you know what, man, we're not in a position to make playoffs, we're gonna offload you to another team. Or they keep him and they try and make the playoffs, and as you mentioned earlier, maybe that shooting clip goes down from, like, 22% to, like, 15%, and maybe that affects the stats, and maybe he only gets, like, six years at, like, a completely different deal. For Bo Horvat, you know what, instead of focusing on the Islanders and the Canucks, and who wins that trade, or who doesn't win that trade, give a moment to Bo Horvat, y'all. He secured the bag! He secured the bag! He got out of a terrible situation in Vancouver, and he gets himself paid! I can't be mad at that.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: We know, in pro sports, nothing is guaranteed. I am very much on the side of players getting as much money as they can before their career ends. Go and get your money. Go and get your 8 million. Go and get your 9.25. I will always support athletes getting as much money as they can, no matter what the situation is. I will always be on their side.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: And you get Lou Lamoriello, who, yes, is very notorious for not releasing contract details, but you get him on record being like, man, this is too long and too much money? Omar, your intentions about fleecing were towards the wrong subject. You should have said that Bo Horvat fleeced the Islanders.

[LAUGHTER]

He got paid! He got paid!

SAM CHANG: I think I said last week that I agreed with Omar that it was a fleecing, and I think I also walked that back over the last week. I mean, I think the overall point was I thought the Canucks should have gotten more for his production this year, but I'm super happy that he got paid. I think he deserves to get paid. I'm always happy when a player gets a massive contract. But I am so happy the Canucks are not paying that contract.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, I've gotta say.

OMAR: No, just JT Miller. Oh!

JULIAN MCKENZIE: It's a lot of money. It's a lot of money for Bo Horvat. But, yeah, I look at that trade, I'm like, eh, is that-- that's a lot of money for a guy whose ceiling is as a 60-point player as of now, and that might be his ceiling for the rest of his career. But Bo Horvat, you know what, man, I'm gonna give you a thumbs up from me.

SAM CHANG: It might work out really well. Matt Barzal is saying, like, he hasn't felt a spark with another player like this in a long time. So, like, if that gets Matt Barzal going, that deal is gonna be worth it.

OMAR: And Barzal needs something, man. Matt Barzal is an 80-point player who can't hit 80 points. But you watch him play, and the skill is just there, and, like, if it's Horvat that ignites that, that'd be sick. That'd be sick for him, sick for the organization, sick for everyone there.