NY Islanders Bo Horvat open to re-signing on Long Island

It's been a whirlwind for Bo Horvat ever since he has been traded to the NY Islanders. GM Lou Lamoriello works in such stealth that he and his agent, Pat Morris, didn't even have the Islanders on their radar until after the trade was already processed. He was in Disney World with his family when he found out the news and now in Sunrise, Florida attending the All-Star weekend festivities where he's representing the Islanders, but in the Pacific Division. We know, it's strange, stay with us. On media day this Thursday, Horvat was made available to talk about his experience after the trade. In the process, he made it be known he's open to signing an extension with the Islanders despite not having stepped foot in New York since he was traded from Vancouver.

“Yeah, of course," Horvat explained after he was asked if he'd re-sign on Long Island. "Obviously, haven’t thought about it in-depth lately. I’m going to leave that up to Pat Morris and Lou to handle it,” Horvat said. “I have a lot of respect for the organization. I’ve heard great things about the city. Obviously don’t know much about it, but definitely interested for sure.”

Lamoriello doesn't make trades for the sake of making trades. The Islanders obvioulsy had a goal scoring issue, so he addressed the need. But, his moves are always calculated. The last two times Lamoriello made a trade, he landed some of the better available names in J.G. Pageau and Kyle Palmieri in two out of the last three trade deadlines. He followed those acquisitions with long-term contract extensions for each player. If history tells us anything, expect Lamoriello to do it again.

There's also the factor that when players come to live on Long Island, even for just a short sample size, they tend to fall in love with it and that word has gotten to the newest mamber of the Islanders.

Horvat states: "First of all, a lot of people said how much they love Long Island, living there, being there, the fans there ... a lot of the guys have reached out and made it a lot easier."

Sure, things will be weird when Horvat steps on the ice as a member of the Islanders for the All-Star game. He'll be wearing new threads for the first time while playing on the same team as his now-former Vancouver teammate Elias Pettersson. But hey, you'd feel weird, too, with a sudden change in your life as big as the change Horvat is going through. The good news is, Horvat is excited about what's ahead.

“Oh god, I’m so nervous. I am. It’s a city that I don’t know a ton about yet, obviously. ... This is different for me but I’m really excited for that.”

Elliotte Friedman on the latest Jeff Marek Show stated he believed the deal will in fact get done. Further, Friedman said “I think it’s gonna be around 8x8. I don’t know that, but that’s my guess. It comes in around at 8x8 or so.”