Insider reveals NY Islanders shut down Montreal Canadiens pursuit of star center

Ever wonder if NHL General Managers just call each other on a whim to see if a player that no one is talking about could suddenly become available?

During TSN's Insider Trading, LeBrun revealed that the Montreal Canadiens reached out to the Islanders about star center Bo Horvat, only to get told "No" by GM Mathieu Darche.

"Speaking of Montreal, by the way, I mean, they’re being pretty aggressive calling around to figure out the market when it comes to being able to upgrade their top-six forward group," LeBrun said. "They’re monitoring Vincent Trocheck for sure and see where that goes. But they’re also calling on guys that you wouldn’t really think about. I mean, my understanding is they’ve called the Islanders on Bo Horvat, and the answer was no, he’s not available. They’ve called Columbus on Kirill Marchenko and also got a fat no from the Blue Jackets. The point is to illustrate that Montreal’s calling not just on the obvious guys but making sure they understand the full market."

Honestly, the Islanders saying no shouldn't surprise anyone.

Darche wants to remain competitive and Horvat is as important as any playing in aiming to accomplish that. He was arguably their best forward last season, and was on his way to perhaps hist second best season overall before some injuries slowed him down.

He's one of the league's better two-way centers, wins faceoffs with the best of them, scores 30-plus goals almost every year and wears a letter for a reason - and that letter could change from an "A" to a "C" depending on what happens with Anders Lee in a few days.

If anything, this tells you how other teams view him.

Montreal was calling because they see Horvat as a legitimate top-line center who could help take a young team to another level. Maybe the day will come when the Islanders will be sellers, and if that day happens, Horvat will bring back one of the largest returns, but that day isn't here yet.

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